An AI-generated comedy special of the late George Carlin, entitled “I’m Glad I’m Dead”, has been circulating throughout the Internet and causing major controversy. The comic’s daughter, Kelly, has gone out to completely slam it.
This special has been released on the Dudesy podcast as reported by Deadline, designed to imitate the legendary performer. It was published 15 years after Carlin’s death of heart failure at age 71.
Carlin’s final special before his passing, “It’s Bad For Ya!” was released in 2008 to critical acclaim.
Kelly Carlin, George’s daughter, took to X/Twitter to address the special, saying “My dad spent a lifetime perfecting his craft from his very human life, brain, and imagination…no machine will ever replace his genius. These AI-generated products are clever attempts at trying to recreate a mind that will never exist again. Let’s let the artist’s work speak for itself. Humans are so afraid of the void that we can’t let what has fallen into it stay there.”
Dudesy introduces the video by claiming the special is like “Andy Kaufman impersonating Elvis or like Will Ferrell impersonating George W. Bush.” This was further expanded by the AI in the video description, which states “For the next hour I’ll be doing my best George Carlin impersonation just like a human being would. I tried to capture his iconic style to tackle the topics I think the comedy legend would be talking about today.”
Although there is nothing like the real thing, the AI manages to convincingly recreate George in his younger years, delivering material that many fans would come to expect from a post-mortem special. Still, doing so without the consent of the artist’s estates is wrong.
This kind of behavior is being seen everywhere, with SAG-AFTRA recently agreeing to a contract to allow AI use of actors’ voices in video games, which has caused a massive uproar among union members.
AI has seen a rapid expansion, particularly in 2023, when new services like ChatGPT coming out. Unfortunately, the possibilities and excitement soon turned to doubt and concern. Art generated with AI has gotten so out of control that a Federal Judge created a new law regarding the banning of copyright for it.