Netflix accused of using AI images in new documentary about Canadian crime

Netflix has been accused of using AI imagery in What Jennifer Did, a new documentary about a Canadian crime.

Directed by Jenny Popplewell (American Murder: The Family Next Door), the film examines the 2010 case of Jennifer Pan, a young Markham, Ontario woman who was arrested for hiring hitmen to kill her parents. According to Futurism, What Jennifer Did features what appears to be two “AI-generated or -manipulated” images of Pan with a smile on her face. As Futurism notes, there are several glaring issues with the images, including mangled facial features and hands, deformed objects in the background and uneven teeth.

Here’s one of the images below:

It’s unclear why Popplewell, the producers and/or Netflix apparently opted to use AI here, but it’s especially egregious considering this is an image of an actual human being, not just a fictional character. Worse still, the person in question, Pan, is currently awaiting retrial for murder, so it’s a story that requires a greater degree of sensitivity.

Netflix hasn’t yet publicly responded to the accusations. But what’s particularly ironic in this situation is that both critics and audiences have already criticized the documentary for being overly conventional and barebones, and the apparent use of AI certainly only adds to those gripes.

Header image credit: York Regional Police