George Carlin's Estate Sues Over AI-Generated Comedy Special

The lawsuit alleges copyright infringement and violation of Carlin's right of publicity, marking one of the first major legal actions addressing the use of AI in recreating celebrity images and likenesses without consent.

George Carlin’s estate has filed a lawsuit against Dudesy, a media company that used artificial intelligence (AI) to create a fake hour-long comedy special mimicking the late comedian's voice and style.
The lawsuit alleges copyright infringement and violation of Carlin's right of publicity, claiming that Carlin’s copyrighted materials and likeness were used without permission or appropriate licenses.
The AI-generated special, titled 'George Carlin: I’m Glad I’m Dead', was released on Dudesy’s YouTube channel on January 9th and has since garnered over 500,000 views.
Carlin’s daughter, Kelly Carlin, criticized the video, stating that no machine will ever replace her father's genius and that the AI-generated products are attempts at trying to recreate a mind that will never exist again.
The lawsuit is one of the first major legal actions addressing the growing concerns over the use of AI in recreating celebrity images and likenesses without consent.