The George Carlin estate has settled its lawsuit against the company who released an allegedly artificial intelligence generated comedy special imitating the late comedian titled 'I'm Glad I'm Dead.'
As reported by Variety, the Dudesy podcast and YouTube channel removed the video and any mention of Carlin from their online accounts following the lawsuit's filing but agreed to never upload it again in the settlement. Dudesy, hosted by Will Sasso and Chad Kultgen, is similarly not allowed to use Carlin's image, voice, or likeness in any subsequent content.
"I am pleased that this matter was resolved quickly and amicably, and I am grateful that the defendants acted responsibly by swiftly removing the video they made," said Carlin's daughter Kelly Carlin, who slammed the video as "a casual theft of a great American artist's work" upon its release in January 2024.
"While it is a shame that this happened at all, I hope this case serves as a warning about the dangers posed by AI technologies and the need for appropriate safeguards not just for artists and creatives, but every human on earth."
Dudesy, who also releases a podcast hosted by Sasso, Kultgen, and an "AI host", initially claimed the special was made by an AI though said after the initial backlash it was actually written by a human and merely fed into an AI voice generator.
"For the next hour I'll be doing my best George Carlin impersonation just like a human being would," the video description read. "I tried to capture his iconic style to tackle the topics I think the comedy legend would be talking about today."
Though it's appeared in many forms over the past few years and decades, AI reached new levels of acclaim in 2023. Chat services like ChatGPT were first to make headlines but excitement and possibility soon turned to concern and doubt as AI art of all kinds was slammed by major figures of several creative industries.
"This settlement is a great outcome for our clients and will serve as a blueprint for resolving similar disputes going forward where an artist or public figure has their rights infringed by AI technology,” said Carlin estate attorney Joshua Schiller.
"This is not a problem that will go away by itself. It must be confronted with swift, forceful action in the courts, and the AI software companies whose technology is being weaponized must also bear some measure of accountability."
Image Credit: Mark Junge/Getty Images
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.
