by Thinus Ferreira
Britain's Independent newspaper reports that Netflix viewers are slamming the video streaming service for using artificial intelligence (AI) in a documentary series and for using AI to recreate the voice of the dead Lou Pearlman as narrator of Dirty Pop: The Boy Band Scam.
Netflix viewers are complaining about Netflix allowing the use of AI in a documentary series like Dirty Pop: The Boy Band Scam which was added to the streamer last week and chronicles the rise and fall of Lou Pearlman who created bands like the Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC.
Lou Pearlman's voice is recreated artificially and he is used as the narrator of the documentary series.
In 2016 Lou Pearlman as the former talent manager of the bands, died in jail at the age of 62, after he pled guilty to money laundering, conspiracy and lying during bankruptcy proceedings.
Within the first three minutes of episode one of Dirty Pop: The Boy Band Scam, Netflix viewers are told they will see digitally altered footage of Lou Pearlman, who is narrating his writing across all of the episodes.
"This footage has been digitally altered to generate his voice and synchronise his lips. The words were written by Lou in his book, Bands, Brands & Billions," Netflix tells viewers.
Viewers like Jessica Lynne says "Whoever decided to make AI Lou Pearlman the narrator of this Dirty Pop: The Boy Band Scam on Netflix, I hope you step on Lego. This is embarrassing."
Alexis Todd-Dinac says "the use of AI-generated voice is not necessary. Really hope this doesn't become a trend - won't be able to tell what's real and what's fake anymore".
Jerry Roe said "Tried watching the Dirty Pop: The Boy Band Scam on Netflix but the AI Lou Pearlman thing is so off-putting and terrible I'm not finishing it. It makes the documentary actively worse and it's super distracting. Why even bother? What's the point? Were they paid to use it? I don't get it at all".
Michael Johnson, executive producer of Dirty Pop: The Boy Band Scam, said in an interview that the production "hired an actor to deliver those words and we used real footage of Lou Pearlman to capture his true mannerisms and body language. We hired AI experts from MIT Media Lab, Pinscreen, and Resemble AI to execute our vision".
