Published: January 26, 2024 at 7:34 pm ET
LOS ANGELES – The estate of George Carlin is suing the media company behind a fake one-hour comedy special that allegedly uses artificial intelligence to recreate the late standup comedian's style and material.
The lawsuit, filed Thursday in federal court in Los Angeles, asks that a judge order the podcast outlet Dudesy to release the audio “George Carlin: I'm Glad I'm Dead,” which includes a synthesis by Carlin is included, to be taken out immediately provides commentary on current events. Carlin died in 2008.
Carlin…
LOS ANGELES – The estate of George Carlin is suing the media company behind a fake one-hour comedy special that allegedly uses artificial intelligence to recreate the late standup comedian's style and material.
The lawsuit, filed Thursday in federal court in Los Angeles, asks that a judge order the podcast outlet Dudesy to release the audio “George Carlin: I'm Glad I'm Dead,” which includes a synthesis by Carlin is included, to be taken out immediately provides commentary on current events. Carlin died in 2008.
Carlin's daughter, Kelly Carlin, said in a statement that the work was “a poorly executed facsimile cobbled together by unscrupulous individuals to capitalize on the extraordinary goodwill my father has built among his enthusiastic fan base.” “
The Carlin estate and its executor, Jerold Hamza, are named as plaintiffs in the lawsuit, which alleges violations of Carlin's right of publicity and copyright. The named defendants are Dudesy and podcast hosts Will Sasso and Chad Kultgen.
“None of the defendants had permission to use Carlin's likeness for the AI-generated 'George Carlin Special,' nor did they have a license to use any of the late comedian's copyrighted material,” the lawsuit states.
The defendants have not filed an answer to the lawsuit and it was not clear whether they have retained an attorney. They could not immediately be reached for comment.
At the start of the special, posted to YouTube on January 9, a voiceover identifying himself as the AI engine used by Dudesy said that he had listened to the comic's 50 years of material and “did my best , to imitate his voice, his rhythm and his attitude”. as well as the topic that I think would have interested him today.”
The plaintiffs say that if it was actually created that way – and some listeners questioned its stated origin – that means Carlin's copyright was infringed.
The company, as is often the case with similar projects, also released a podcast episode in which Sasso and Kultgen introduced and commented on the recreated Carlin.
“Was what we just heard passable?” Kultgen says in a section of the episode quoted in the lawsuit.
“Yes, that sounded exactly like George Carlin,” Sasso replies.
The lawsuit is one of the first in a series of major legal moves to combat the reuse of celebrity images and likenesses.
The AI issue was a key sticking point in resolving last year's Hollywood writers and actors strikes.
Josh Schiller, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said in a statement that “the case is not just about AI, but about the people who use AI to break the law, violate intellectual property rights, and violate common decency to violate.”