Netflix has been criticized for using AI recreations of the late Gabby Petito's voice in its three-part docu-series. (The Moab Police Department via AP)
Netflix is under fire for using AI to recreate the voice of murdered travel vlogger Gabby Petito.
“American Murder: Gabby Petito,” a three-part-doc-series chronicles the events leading up to and after the 22-year-old was murdered by her fiancée Brian Laundrie in 2021. Within these episodes, there’s a wealth of footage because Petito was striving to become a content creator.
You’ll notice it’s in her voice while reading journal entries and letters. However, it’s an AI construct. That might rub a lot of viewers the wrong way. Filmmakers Julia Willoughby Nason and Michael Gasparro spoke to US Weekly about their decision to do this.
“We had so much material from her parents that we were able to get, said Gasparro. “All of her journals since she was young, and there was so much of her writing. She documented her trips and most of her life from a young age. We thought it was really important to bring that to life,” Gasparro noted. “At the end of the day, we wanted to tell the story as much through Gabby as possible. It’s her story.”
Gasparro and Nason also noted that they contacted Petito’s loved ones for permission and received it.
This is not the first time Netflix has been criticized for using AI to reanimate voices or alter pictures. The technology was used to recreate the voice of deceased boy band manager Lou Pearlman as a narrator in the 2024 miniseries, “Dirty Pop: The Boy Band Scam.” It was also alleged that photographs were altered in the 2024 true crime documentary, “What Jennifer Did.”
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Murjani Rawls may be reached at mrawls@njadvancemedia.com
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