“George Carlin’s estate is suing over the release of a comedy special that uses generative artificial intelligence to mimic the deceased comedian’s voice and style of humor.
The lawsuit, filed in California federal court Thursday, accuses the creators of the special of utilizing without consent or compensation George Carlin’s entire body of work consisting of five decades of comedy routines to train an AI chatbot, which wrote the episode’s script. It also takes issue with using his voice and likeness for promotional purposes.
The complaint seeks a court order for immediate removal of the special, as well as unspecified damages. It’s among the first legal actions taken by the estate of a deceased celebrity for unlicensed use of their work and likeness to manufacture a new, AI-generated creation and was filed as Hollywood is sounding the alarm over utilization of AI to impersonate people without consent or compensation.
Author and producer Kelly Carlin, daughter of George Carlin, said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, “We have to draw a line in the sand.” She stressed, “This is going to be a fight on every front, with entertainment at the center.”“