The newly released Netflix documentary Gabby Petito: American Murder is under fire for its use of artificial intelligence to recreate Petito’s voice, raising ethical concerns among viewers and experts alike.
Over the course of a three-part docuseries, it tells the horrifying story of the 2021 disappearance and slaying of Gabby Petito, whose disappearance became an entire country’s obsession.
The filmmakers used AI-generated voice technology to breathe life into Gabby’s journal entries and text messages of the missing woman who killed her husband. 
Some of the reactions and what Netflix calls an “unanimous” approval the film’s directors had gotten from Petito — whose family members said they talked to Petito authorized the decision online. Users on social media claimed it was “creepy” and “disturbing” as well that a TikTok video came to it “one step too far” for an AI voice.
Merve Hickok AI ethics scholar cautioned that, “the voice of a murdered victim was erased without her consent,” and there are still troubling ethical questions of, “Are we ethically justified in re-creating it for commercial use regardless of family permission.”
Petito’s mother, Nichole Schmidt, admitted the AI voice felt “off,” while her stepfather, Jim Schmidt, noted, “Hearing her voice, real or not, is still painful.”
With the rise of AI in filmmaking, debates around ethical storytelling and consent continue to grow. The controversy surrounding Gabby Petito: American Murder suggests that the conversation is far from over.
