The use of AI in a new Netflix documentary has drawn criticism from viewers on social media, who have described it as “distracting” and “freaky”.
The documentary, The Investigation of Lucy Letby, examines the case of Letby, a former neonatal nurse convicted in 2023 of the murders of seven infants and the attempted murders of seven others between 2015 and 2016. She is currently serving a life sentence for the crimes. The synopsis of the film states that it uses “unseen footage and unheard insider accounts” to explore the case.
One aspect of the film that has drawn criticism is the use of AI to change the appearance of witnesses being interviewed, in order to anonymise them. Traditional documentaries tend to obscure faces, portray the interviewees in shadow, or use actors as stand-ins. The choice has left some viewers unsettled, and taking to social media to voice their displeasure.
“Not the AI rendered people in the Lucy Letby documentary, Netflix never do that again,” wrote one person on X (formerly Twitter), with another adding: “Netflix’s choice to use AI on interviewees’ faces was pretty disturbing. Might as well have just blurred their faces.”
not the AI rendered people in the lucy letby documentary netflix never do that again pic.twitter.com/fP8JJnEZeR
— h. (@gkslvk206) February 4, 2026
Watched #TheInvestigationOfLucyLetby doc, and I think it’s wild that anyone doubts her guilt given the evidence and those confession notes. Also, Netflix's choice to use AI on interviewees' faces was pretty disturbing. Might as well have just blurred their faces. pic.twitter.com/OcQICwQh0c
— Erika (@erikaxtc) February 4, 2026
One viewer said the choice was detrimental to the film, writing: “the new Lucy letby Netflix documentary features really freaky AI people talking for extended periods, apparently with the purpose of anonymising victims (fair to do) but instead just makes it look cheap and fake even though this is a real case with real victims.”
the new Lucy letby Netflix documentary features really freaky ai people talking for extended periods, apparently with the purpose of anonymising victims (fair to do) but instead just makes it look cheap and fake even though this is a real case with real victims. it looks shit btw
— ily (@froggy_yeojin) February 4, 2026
Another raised the ethical implications of using AI instead of human actors, amid an ongoing debate about the use of artificial intelligence in art excluding human creativity. “’Digitally anonymised’ = AI slop in a fucking documentary” they posted. “You can’t write it. USE ACTORS. PAY HUMANS.”
“Digitally anonymised” = AI slop in a fucking documentary. You can’t write it. USE ACTORS. PAY HUMANS. #TheInvestigationofLucyLetby
— jodie (@__jodie___) February 4, 2026
The Investigation Of Lucy Letby is available on Netflix now.