Netflix's new true crime documentary, The Investigation of Lucy Letby, tells the horrific story of a neonatal nurse who was convicted of murdering seven babies. True crime fans are already obsessed with the new doc, but many are disgusted by the choice to use AI deepfakes of grieving mothers.
While reenactments are a common tool in true crime, using AI "people" to share testimonies is beyond creepy.
Because some of the real-life subjects of the doc wanted to maintain privacy, they were seemingly just replaced by AI. In the documentary, a disclaimer next to "Sarah" and "Maise" reads, "Digitally Anonymised."
While allowing the film's subjects to opt out of participating is perfectly acceptable, replacing real people with AI goes against the entire idea of a documentary.
People react to Netflix's use of AI
AI continues to be a hot-button issue, particularly when it comes to film and television. The Internet has made it clear that they don't want AI in their entertainment, especially in a documentary.
On Reddit, true crime fans had a lot to say about the choice.
"I had to rewind and watch it again because it was so unnatural and creepy," said u/freycray. "Yet another case of pointlessly forcing the use of this ungodly technology where it doesn’t belong."
"It takes away from the real stories of the people involved," wrote u/croissantt88. "All I could think about as I was watching was how weird these 'people' looked rather than what they were actually saying."
"I HATE IT! Feels like I’m watching a cartoon character for something that’s supposed to be deeply emotional," agreed u/BrianaNichol.
"I was finding that the AI would make weird facial expressions that didn't match the tone of what was being said, and often had this robotic, dead look in the eyes," agreed u/FineAlbatross9162. "Personally, it's not something I would like to see more of in documentaries."
u/SNKBossFight kept it simple: "It looks insane. Just awful. Never do this again."
Meanwhile, many people have also taken to X to call out Netflix for their use of AI in The Investigation of Lucy Letby as well.
It takes away from the story.
No one wants this.
Unnatural.
Better options were available.
Glitching.
One thing is certain.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Blast Films for comment.
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