If you even remotely follow the poker social media and news space, you’re probably aware of the most recent controversy that saw the recently-released ‘No Limit’ docuseries and its creator Dustin Iannotti come under some heavy fire.
What started with a tweet from Alan Keating, one of the main protagonists of the series, ended up in a major fallout, as the WSOP decided to pull the entire series off YouTube for the time being.
If you’ve somehow missed the whole story that developed over the last few days, the long and short of it is that it came to light that AI was used to create a few voiceovers for Alan Keating, effectively putting words in his mouth.
The incident quickly spiraled, with a majority of the poker community taking a firm stance that such practices were inexcusable, jeopardizing the credibility of the entire series. As a form of damage control, the WSOP pulled the six ‘No Limit’ episodes that were published so far off YouTube, promising to release a reedited version that aligns with the company’s values.
The Back Story: What Happened, Exactly?
‘No Limit’ is a docuseries that was created as a mutual effort between the World Series of Poker and Dustin Iannotti, a video producer with a particular passion for poker. In the months building up the series, Iannotti was describing it as a real game-changer and a product designed to generate interest in the game that reaches beyond the poker community.
The series itself was received with mixed reactions, with many feeling that it didn’t quite deliver on its ambitious promises. Nonetheless, it was a quality piece of poker programming.
The major issue, which eventually led to the series being pulled off, appeared after episode five. The episode focused quite heavily on Alan Keating. After the show had aired, Keating posted on X, stating that some half dozen of his quotes from that episode were actually made using AI, putting words in his mouth, without ever asking for his permission or even letting him know about it.
With the episode currently not available for viewing, it’s worth clarifying that the statements weren’t completely out of sync with Keating’s original quotes used by the AI, but the final wording was somewhat strange and over-the-top.
This specific post has since been deleted, but not before Iannotti, who also manages content for Keating’s personal YouTube channel, admitted to using AI and apologized to Keating.
It seems that the apology was enough for Mr. Keating, as he removed his original post and hasn’t said much on the topic since, but the poker community at large has been nowhere so forgiving.
There’s been a lot of backlash directed toward Iannotti and the WSOP, perhaps in part due to big promises that preceded the show.
Was Alan Keating the Only One?
Following the revelation of the AI application, a question that naturally came up was: was this really the only segment that was changed in this manner, or were there other instances?
In an attempt to get some answers, Poker.org reached out to Iannotti, and he proceeded to explain that AI placeholders were created for other participants, but with the intent for them to come in person and actually record the final version. Keating was, somehow, missed, so the original AI voiceover was left in.
In that conversation, Iannotti also confirmed that these were the only instances where AI was used that made it into the final cut of the series.
It is worth noting in this context that another player came out with a complaint following the original conversation. That other player was Alex Keating, who was also featured in episode five. Although they share the same surname, Alex and Alan aren’t related. They were just at the same table, and the series captured a few hands and moments between the two.
On his X profile, Alex posted that the producers also used a fake AI voice for him and edited things without context. Iannotti rebutted this, stating that they only used AI enhancements on his voice to isolate it from the surrounding noise.
Is ‘No Limit’ Coming Back?
Amidst all the controversy, the WSOP was quite quick to pull the trigger and remove the entire series from YouTube for the time being, with the promise of bringing it back without any controversial details or quotes.
For context, six out of the total eight episodes of ‘No Limit’ were released prior to this decision.
When and if the series will return remains unknown. On one hand, a lot of resources went into making ‘No Limit,’ and it would be a shame to see it shelved. On the other hand, no matter what happens behind the scenes, the proverbial stain will remain and likely haunt the show upon its return.
Most likely, ‘No Limit’ will be back on YouTube in the near future, and the fresh release will be accompanied by the company’s PR. What that PR will contain remains to be seen.
