George Carlin's Estate Sues Podcasters Over AI Impression Of Comedian

LOS ANGELES, CA — The estate of George Carlin has filed a lawsuit against podcasters who created an hour-long comedy special billed as an artificial intelligence-generated impression of the late comedian, according to court documents.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Los Angeles Thursday, alleges that Dudesy podcast hosts Will Sasso and Chad Kultgen committed copyright infringement when they used Carlin's likeness in "George Carlin: I'm Glad I'm Dead." The suit claims the podcasters trained an AI algorithm using five decades of Carlin's work in order to create a computer-generated likeness of him.

The special was posted on the podcast's YouTube channel but was unavailable Monday.

Dudesy bills itself as “A.I., Podcast, YouTube show." But a spokeswoman for Sasso said Dudesy is not actually an AI, the New York Times reported.

“It’s a fictional podcast character created by two human beings, Will Sasso and Chad Kultgen,” the spokeswoman said. “The YouTube video ‘I’m Glad I’m Dead’ was completely written by Chad Kultgen.”

The lawsuit alleges that the internet special "was created through the unauthorized use of Carlin's copyrighted work, (but) is not George Carlin's work." It was generated by use of "a technological process that is an unlawful appropriation of Carlin's identity, which also damages the value of Carlin's real work and his legacy," according to the suit.

The lawsuit, filed by Carlin's longtime manager, Jerry Hamza, asks a judge order the podcast be taken down.

Carlin's daughter, Kelly Carlin, said in a statement that the audio- only stand-up routine "is a poorly executed facsimile cobbled together by unscrupulous individuals to capitalize on the extraordinary goodwill my father established with his adoring fanbase."

Carlin died in June 2008.

City News Service contributed to this report.