The family of George Carlin is taking legal action against a media company for producing a fake comedy special that claims to use artificial intelligence to imitate the late comedian’s style and material.

A lawsuit was filed in federal court in Los Angeles on Thursday, requesting that a judge order Dudesy – a podcast platform – to remove the audio special titled “George Carlin: I’m Glad I’m Dead.” The special features a compilation of commentary by the late George Carlin on current events.

Kelly Carlin, the daughter of Carlin, expressed in a statement that the project is “a poorly made imitation put together by dishonest people to profit off the immense support my father gained from his loyal fans.”

The lawsuit includes the Carlin estate and its executor, Jerold Hamza, as plaintiffs. It claims that there have been infringements on Carlin’s rights of publicity and copyright. The defendants listed in the lawsuit are Dudesy, as well as podcast hosts Will Sasso and Chad Kultgen.

The lawsuit states that the Defendants did not have authorization to use Carlin’s image for the AI-generated ‘George Carlin Special’ and also did not have a license to use any of the comedian’s copyrighted content.

The accused have not yet submitted a reply to the legal case and it is uncertain if they have hired a lawyer. They were unavailable for immediate comment.

The opening of the YouTube special on Jan. 9 features a voiceover claiming to be the AI engine used by Dudesy. It states that it has analyzed 50 years of the comedian’s material and attempted to replicate his voice, rhythm, attitude, and subject matter as it believes he would have discussed if he were alive today.

The plaintiffs claim that if this is indeed how it was produced – which some listeners have questioned – then it would constitute a violation of Carlin’s copyright.

The company, as is typical for similar projects, also published a podcast episode featuring Sasso and Kultgen discussing and providing commentary on the parody Carlin.

Kultgen commented in the mentioned portion of the episode, asking if what we heard was acceptable.

“I agree, that sounded just like George Carlin,” replied Sasso.

This legal action is one of the initial steps taken to combat the renewed exploitation of famous individuals’ images and likenesses.

The problem involving AI was a significant obstacle in resolving the Hollywood writers and actors strikes that occurred last year.

Attorney for the plaintiffs, Josh Schiller, stated that the case is not solely focused on AI, but also on the individuals who utilize AI to break the law, disregard intellectual property rights, and neglect basic moral principles.

Source: wral.com