Comedy

George Carlin’s Estate Sues Over ‘Unscrupulous’ AI Special

NO JOKE

The legendary comic’s daughter called the work a “poorly-executed facsimile.”

George Carlin’s estate is suing a company over its purported AI special using the comedian’s likeness and style.
Kevin Statham/Redferns via Getty

The estate of George Carlin is suing a company that claimed to have used artificial intelligence to make a new audio special in the late comedian’s style and likeness titled I’m Glad I’m Dead. The lawsuit requests a court order for podcast outlet Dudesy to immediately take the work down. In a statement, Kelly Carlin slammed the “special” as “a poorly-executed facsimile cobbled together by unscrupulous individuals to capitalize on the extraordinary goodwill my father established with his adoring fanbase.” The project was purportedly made with an AI engine trained on Carlin’s real material to “imitate his voice, cadence, and attitude,” a voiceover at the beginning of the audio explains. Some listeners have questioned Dudesy’s story about how the audio was made, according to the Associated Press. “It’s not his voice,” Kelly told The Daily Beast earlier this month. “It’s not even really his cadence. So therefore they need to take the name off because it is not George Carlin.”

Read it at Associated Press