The decision has caused an uproar among users on these platforms after it became evident in the first episode of the series, with some users asking how ethical it is to use AI to digitally reconstruct the voice of a murder victim.

Netflix is under fire as Gabby Petito’s story comes to life

The docuseries, which has three parts features the story of a travel blogger, Gabby Petito, who went missing while she was on a cross-country trip with her fiance, Brian Laundries. The authorities later found Petito’s body, with evidence of strangulation, declaring her fiance, who had since vanished, a person of interest in the case. Weeks after the declaration, his body was found in a nature reserve in Florida, where he confessed to killing Gabby in a suicide note found beside him.

According to a disclaimer shared by Netflix before the first episode the story was brought to life in the series using Gabby’s voice, via voice recreation technology. The AI voice narrated the journal writings from the beginning of the docu-series, and will likely narrate it to the end.

According to the director and executive producers of the series, Julia Willoughby Nason and Michael Gasparro, they received permission from her parents to use the technology. “We had so much material from her parents… all of her journals since she was young. She documented her trips and most of her life. We thought it was really important to bring that to life,” they said.

According to reports, a video condemning the decision garnered over 1.5 million views in 24 hours, with users mentioning that using AI was a step too far for the platform. Some people mentioned that her voice was publicly available in her videos and they could’ve used it instead.

Gabby’s mother, Nichole Schmidt mentioned that hearing the AI-generated voice was difficult for the family, saying, “I think it’s weird… because we know her actual voice. It’s a little off. It’s just hard to hear.”

In 2021, Netflix faced the same criticism for recreating Anthony Bourdain’s voice using artificial intelligence in the movie “Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain”. The Director of that film, Morgan Neville, later admitted to using AI voice cloning, telling The New Yorker, “Viewers probably don’t know which lines are spoken by the AI model.”

The post Netflix under fire for using the AI-generated voice of Gabby Petito first appeared on Coinfea.

The closure has been tied to the firm’s focus on smaller games. Netflix entered into the gaming sector to grab a share of the multi-million dollar industry. Since entering the industry, Netflix has since tried to maintain its commitment to the market, developing and expanding to cater to fans worldwide.

The expansion aided the growth of the company which recruited talents worldwide to join its quest to take over the industry.

Netflix closes its internal AAA studio

According to Game File, the studio, named Blue, is based in Southern California. Before the development, the studio was led by Joseph Staten, a former creative director with Halo. Staten was working alongside other gaming veterans in the studio.

Notably, the studio had been in operation for two years before Netflix decided to stop its activities. The studio’s closure is also coming before the release of any project, despite news claiming it had big projects in the works.

The closure also means that the big-name veterans recruited to spearhead several departments will not be forced to depart. Some veterans affected include former Halo director Joseph Staten, Overwatch executive producer Chacko Sunny, and God of War art director Rafael Grassetti.

With Staten directing its affairs, the studio was linked to the release of a shooter game. The departure means the studio will no longer release its much-anticipated multi-platform game.

The closure is coming as a shock to many gamers because Netflix said that it was okay with the company’s results over the three years it has been operating.

During the period, executives at Netflix noted that the firm was committed to gaming, and pushing its ambitions in the industry. At the time, the platform’s CEO Gregory Peters clarified that they were developing about eighty games.

Tweaks to game development approach

Despite its CEO’s recent remarks about 80 games in development, Netflix is yet to release a blockbuster mobile game. The platform will continue to use its game studios in Helsinki, and Night School Studio owned by the developer of Oxenfree.

During the company’s second-quarter 2024 earnings call, its co-CEO Ted Sarandos mentioned that the platform will release games based on shows to engage fans with their favorite storylines.

The closure of the Blue studio in South California and the release of more content has been touted as a major shift in its game development direction. The new approach will see Netflix utilize its entertainment portfolio rather than slug it out in the AAA gaming world.

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