The Uncanny Valley of ‘The Investigation of Lucy Letby’
AI 'Anonymisation' removes human relatability from this bizarre Netflix documentary
There’s a new documentary on Netflix about the convicted child killer, Lucy Letby. What should be an absolutely fascinating documentary is, instead, an absolute freak show.
Parents of murdered babies appear as ‘digitally anonymised’ versions of themselves, as does a buddy of Lucy Letby. Digitally Anonymised is a polite way of saying “FAKE AI!”
The film focuses on one of the most horrific serial killer cases in modern British history. The murders and attempted murders of numerous children in a British hospital. It’s understandable that the people involved in the case - especially victims, want to be protected through anonymity. But the filmmakers decided to use TRULY BIZARRE renderings of the people they interviewed.
They DON’T LOOK LIKE HUMANS!
They COULDN’T EVEN SYNC THE VOICES TO THEIR WEIRD UNCANNY FACES!
When the mother of a baby who was killed is being interviewed on camera, where I’d normally be feeling empathy or sadness or understanding, instead I’m completely disconnected emotionally because THE INTERVIEWEE HAS A WEIRD BALLOONING FACE, it looks like THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE MORPHED INTO A NEARLY HUMAN.
And then even when they do film and interview humans who are presented in their true human form, the interviews are weirdly stilted and unnatural. NOBODY IN THIS DOCUMENTARY TALKS LIKE A REAL HUMAN!
Maybe the police officers and expert witnesses and medical consultants scripted out their answers and then spoke from an autocue. Or perhaps they were heavily directed on how to respond. Either way - NOTHING FEELS REAL OR HUMAN IN THIS DOC!
It’s positively baffling.
The film is tonally WEIRD, nothing feels real. The devastating truth of this case is presented in such a bizarre way that it’s near impossible to fully take in what’s happening. At times, the AI-faced interviewees are so STRANGE that it literally makes you laugh.
WHAT!
Never did I expect nor want to laugh during a Lucy Letby documentary but wow, this film truly is a unique original. Awful.
We can't stop AI, it's here and it's infiltrating everything. But in a documentary like this, the humanity of the people involved needs to be protected. If you need to blur faces, or change voices, or use actors, it's understandable. But the way AI is used here is insulting to everyone involved in the case. We are listening to the horrific testimony and views of those involved, but what we're seeing with our own eyes is not human, it's just plain weird and unsettling and it undermines the documentary, making nothing seem real.