The new Netflix documentary, "American Murder: Gabby Petito," has sparked backlash after using an artificial intelligence-generated voice-over for Petito's narration.
Gabby Petito's disappearance and death made national headlines in September 2021, with law enforcement launching a nationwide search for the 22-year-old.
Petito went missing while she had been documenting a cross-country road trip with her fiance, Brian Laundrie.
The three-part series features interviews with Petito's loved ones, photographs, video footage, maps and writing excerpts.
The first episode shares a disclaimer that Petito's journal entries and text messages were "brought to life in this series in her own voice, using voice recreation technology."
NBC reported that directors and executive producers Julia Willoughby Nason and Michael Gasparro told Us Weekly that Petito's family gave their "blessing" to recreate her voice in the documentary.
However, that decision has received some serious backlash online. Some X users labeled it " unsettling ," " deeply uncomfortable " and " wholly unnecessary ."
A TikTok video describing the decision as a "step too far" has since garnered nearly 500,000 views.
In his statement to Us Weekly, Gasparro explained that the filmmakers had access to a wealth of material provided by Petito’s parents.
"We had all of her journals from a young age, and there was so much of her writing. She documented her trips and most of her life," Gasparro said. "We thought it was really important to bring that to life. At the end of the day, we wanted to tell the story as much through Gabby as possible. It’s her story."
Merve Hickok, president and policy director at the Center for AI and Digital Policy, a nonprofit research organization, stated that the general use of voice recreation is not inherently unethical.
According to Hickok, using voice cloning to bring public content to life and make it more accessible is an acceptable use of the technology.
However, problems arise when filmmakers share private or deeply personal content in a way that could be seen as invasive.
“The person made a decision to keep that private,” Hickok said. “And it is not up to us. It’s not up to any of us to make that decision on their behalf after they passed away.”
Some of Petito’s family members shared their thoughts with The Independent about the reaction to the AI-generated voice-over and their decision to allow filmmakers to use it.
“It feels strange because we know her real voice, so it’s a little off,” Nichole Schmidt, Petito’s mother, said. “It’s just hard to hear.”
Petito's stepfather, Jim Schmidt, shared similar feelings, saying, “Whether it’s AI or her real voice, I still get upset hearing it, knowing she’s gone.”
Hickok believes that voice cloning could offer potential benefits for families, such as creating “preexisting arrangements to use voice as a remembrance after a family member passes away.”
However, she also cautioned filmmakers to consider the “negative risks,” pointing out that there are currently no regulations in place to impose penalties in these cases.
“The film industry has been around for a very long time, and they’ve always had creative ways of evoking emotional reactions,” Hickok said. “Just because a new technology is available doesn’t mean it should be used for such purposes.”
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