George Carlin’s estate is suing the creators of an artificial intelligence (AI) version of the comedian, saying it’s “not the beautiful human who defined his generation,” but a “poorly-executed facsimile.”
In a lawsuit filed late Thursday in a federal court in Los Angeles, the estate of the comedy legend, including his daughter, Kelly Carlin, allege the online media company Dudesy violated the politically charged comic’s right to publicity and copyright infringement.
Dudesy, run by Will Sasso and Chad Kultgen, released an hourlong audio comedy special earlier this month called, “George Carlin: I’m Glad I’m Dead.”
In the introduction to the special posted on YouTube, a “comedy AI” tells listeners: “I just want you to know very clearly that you’re about to hear is not George Carlin. It’s my impersonation of George Carlin that I developed in the exact same way a human impressionist would.”
“I listened to all of George Carlin’s material and did my best to imitate his voice, cadence and attitude, as well as the subject matter I think would’ve interested him today,” the Dudesy special said.