Get the latest gossip

George Carlin Estate Sues Creators Of AI-Generated Comedy Special In Key Lawsuit Over Stars’ Likenesses

"We have to draw a line in the sand," says daughter Kelly Carlin, who sued creators of an hourlong special titled 'George Carlin: I’m Glad I’m Dead.'

The lawsuit, filed in California federal court on 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. At the start of the video, it’s explained that the AI program that created the special ingested five decades of Carlin’s original standup routines, which are owned by the comedian’s estate, as training materials, “thereby making unauthorized copies” of the copyrighted works. If signed into law, the proposal, called the No AI Fraud Act, could curb a growing trend of individuals and businesses creating AI-recorded tracks using artists’ voices and deceptive ads in which it appears a performer is endorsing a product.

Get the Android app