AI deepfakes of Anthony Bourdain’s voice are only a taste of what’s coming

Director Neville created a model of Bourdain’s (pic) voice for 45 seconds of narration in the documentary Roadrunner. — Focus Features/AP

THE most important thing about a documentary deepfaking Anthony Bourdain’s voice isn’t that it happened, but that it happened and almost nobody noticed.

Director Morgan Neville faced skepticism and outright revulsion on social media last month when it was revealed he used artificial intelligence (AI) to create a model of Bourdain’s voice for 45 seconds of narration in the new documentary Roadrunner, about the life and 2018 death by suicide of the beloved chef and journalist.