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ID docuseries on Aileen Wuornos uses AI face masks on actors

Investigation Discovery's three-part series "Unmasking a Monster: Aileen Wuornos" digitally replaced actor Morag Peacock's face with one resembling Wuornos. The producers call it ethical and authentic; The A.V. Club is sceptical.

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Image: The Hollywood Reporter
Image: The A.V. Club

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The story, neutrally told

Investigation Discovery's docuseries Unmasking a Monster: Aileen Wuornos used an AI-mask tool in post-production to make actor Morag Peacock look like the serial killer. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the series did the same with nine other actors and their real-life counterparts. Executive producer Stephen Dost said archival footage of Wuornos is "very limited" and that he wanted to show her face rather than avoid the actor's face, as traditional reenactments do.

ID president Jason Sarlanis said reenactments have been "an obstacle to believability" and that digital prosthetics give viewers a new level of authenticity. Peacock said she had reservations about the AI element at first, but became comfortable after deciding it was like CGI, that she had not been cloned, and that no AI persona was created. Dost said it took three years to use AI "ethically" and that it was not a shortcut; the A.V. Club quotes the producer's "ethical roadmap", which includes not using the tech where consent could not be obtained.

The A.V. Club questioned how the approach makes the series more authentic, and suggested ID could face legal trouble if a replaced face resembled another actor such as Charlize Theron. The series premieres on ID and HBO Max, weeks after Netflix's Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story, in which Sarah Paulson plays Wuornos; Dost called the timing coincidental.

Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on.

Left2 outlets

Framing
The Hollywood Reporter runs a producer-and-talent Q&A-style feature explaining and defending the AI use; The A.V. Club recasts the same interview as a sardonic critique of AI replacing human performance.
Emphasis
THR stresses ethics, consent, the three-year process and Peacock's comfort; the A.V. Club stresses Peacock's muted enthusiasm, the contrast with Theron's and Paulson's non-AI portrayals, and unanswered questions about authenticity.
Leaves out or plays down
The A.V. Club leaves out Peacock's statements that she was not cloned and that her family recognised her, and Sarlanis's reasoning about reenactments. THR does not include critics or outside voices on AI use.
Charged language
“bargain-basement edge of the AI wedge”“pasted over”“digital prosthetics”“first for the industry”
For example
“This specific deployment of AI is a first for the industry” — The Hollywood Reporter
“If all of this sounds like the thin, bargain-basement edge of the AI wedge toward replacing human actors, don’t worry.” — The A.V. Club

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