George Carlin estate sues over alleged AI-generated comedy special

(NewsNation) — The estate of George Carlin is suing the media company behind an hourlong comedy special that they allege uses artificial intelligence to recreate the late standup comic’s style and material.

The lawsuit filed in federal court in Los Angeles on Jan. 25 asks that a judge order the podcast outlet Dudesy to immediately take down the audio special, “George Carlin: I’m Glad I’m Dead,” in which a synthesis of Carlin delivers commentary on current events. Carlin died in 2008.

Joshua Schiller, who represents the Carlin estate, said the video was removed after the lawsuit was filed but it failed to mend the harm.

“It doesn’t repair the injury of what’s going on because the video exists. It’s been circulated all over the internet and we’ll have to take a lot of steps in order to try to remove the thing permanently, and that’s a complicated process to do.”

Carlin’s daughter, Kelly Carlin, said in a statement that the work is “a poorly-executed facsimile cobbled together by unscrupulous individuals to capitalize on the extraordinary goodwill my father established with his adoring fanbase.”

The Carlin estate and its executor, Jerold Hamza, are named as plaintiffs in the suit, 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 materials,” the lawsuit said.

The defendants have not filed a response to the lawsuit and it was not clear whether they have retained an attorney.

NewsNation contacted the creators for comment but has not heard back. However, a spokesperson told the New York Times, “It’s a fictional podcast character created by two human beings, Will Sasso and Chad Kultgen. The YouTube video ‘I’m Glad I’m Dead’ was completely written by Chad Kultgen.”

At the beginning of the special posted on YouTube on Jan. 9, a voiceover identifying itself as the AI engine used by Dudesy says it listened to the comic’s 50 years of material and “did my best to imitate his voice, cadence and attitude as well as the subject matter I think would have interested him today.”

The plaintiffs say if that was in fact how it was created — and some listeners have doubted its stated origins — it means Carlin’s copyright was violated.

The company, as it often does on similar projects, also released a podcast episode with Sasso and Kultgen introducing and commenting on the mock Carlin.

The lawsuit is among the first in what is likely to be an increasing number of major legal moves made to fight the regenerated use of celebrity images and likenesses.

Schiller said the “case is not just about AI, it’s about the humans that use AI to violate the law, infringe on intellectual property rights, and flout common decency.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.