As much as technological advances can help us, there are always possible dangers as well, as Ohio County Schools and law enforcement officials recently discussed.

The Wheeling Police Department will soon put together a video educating parents and students about the risks in artificial intelligence image manipulation. It is getting much easier to take existing photos and videos and mold them into whatever the user wishes — and that sometimes can lead to trouble.

Wheeling Park High School Assistant Principal Jack Doyle told the story of someone who took a photo of two girls standing at the bus stop, but then used AI to manipulate the photo to make it look like they were kissing, when they never were.

Ohio County Schools Assistant Superintendent Rick Jones said 13% of principals have already reported AI-related incidents like that happening in their schools.

It’s good that school officials and law enforcement are working to battle this issue, but the first line of defense should come at home. Parents must make sure their children understand that their social media photos and videos are easy targets for such manipulation that could lead to cyberbullying or even extortion.

In an ever-evolving technological world, everyone must do their part in protecting children from bad actors in the AI realm.