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Artificial Intelligence in documentary filmmaking: the ethics of deepfakes

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Lees, D. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3787-3740 (2025) Artificial Intelligence in documentary filmmaking: the ethics of deepfakes. In: Piotrowska, A. (ed.) The Ethics of Documentary Film. Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, pp. 296-318. ISBN 9781399534857 (In Press)

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Abstract/Summary

Generative AI enables filmmakers to manipulate video and audio through machine learning techniques. Documentary makers have been at the forefront of the adoption of this technology, in particular the ‘deepfake’ process of altering the face or voice of an interviewee, despite an apparent conflict with the documentary principle of the authentic portrayal of a film’s subject. This chapter explores how documentary filmmakers are using deepfakes in their practice. It uses production case study and interview methodologies to understand the creative intentions and technological processes undertaken by key innovators in this field of documentary production. Key ethical concerns raised by filmmakers themselves and their audiences are elaborated. A feature of this discussion is the centrality of ethical debate at multiple levels: within the technology itself, within the process of documentary production, and in the reception of those documentary films that have integrated Generative AI into their creative process.

Item Type:Book or Report Section
Refereed:Yes
Divisions:Arts, Humanities and Social Science > School of Arts and Communication Design > Film, Theatre & Television
ID Code:120203
Uncontrolled Keywords:Generative AI; documentary practice; AI; synthetic media; documentary film
Additional Information:Chapter 17
Publisher:Edinburgh University Press
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