George Carlin’s Daughter Slams AI-Generated Comedy Special, “No Machine Will Ever Replace His Genius”

Dudesy, an AI comedy podcast and platform hosted by comedian Will Sasso and podcaster Chad Kultgen (along with the eponymous AI), has released “George Carlin: I’m Glad I’m Dead!” on their YouTube channel. The video is described as a fully AI-generated special using the late comedian’s voice to discuss modern topics. USA Today first reported on the special, revealing that the AI-generated George Carlin covers topics ranging from transgender rights to modern billionaires like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos. The family of George Carlin however are not sitting idly by as the “special” makes the rounds. In a series of posts on X, formerly Twitter, Kelly Carlin, the only child of George Carlin, posted a statement on the AI-generated special, slamming it and its creators.

“My statement regarding the AI generated George Carlin special: 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. Here’s an idea, how about we give some actual living human comedians a listen to? But if you want to listen to the genuine George Carlin, he has 14 specials that you can find anywhere.”

When a user followed-up afterward to clarify if the Carlin family had given permission for the AI special to be created, Kelly Carlin confirmed: “ZERO PERMISSION GRANTED.”

The AI-generated George Carlin special attempts to skirt controversy by calling itself a “George Carlin impersonation” and further tries to make it clear that it’s not any kind of official work. Like many other AI tools however, it would appear that the work previously released by Carlin was what was used to train the AI, with Dudesy itself confirming that it “listened” to “all of George Carlin’s material.”

“I just want to let you know very clearly that what you’re about to hear is not George Carlin,” the Dudesy AI says at the start of the video. “It’s my impersonation of George Carlin that I developed in the exact same way a human impressionist would, I listened to all of George Carlin’s material and did my best to imitate his voice, cadence, and attitude as well as the subject matter I think would have interested him today. So think of it like Andy Kaufman impersonating Elvis or like Will Ferrell impersonating George W. Bush.”

Both Will Sasso and Chad Kultgen appeared stunned by “Dudesy” creating a George Carlin special in the latest episode of their podcast, but seemingly came around to it because of the similarities it had to the comedian’s actually speaking voice.

“(George Carlin)’s been resurrected by an AI to create more material,” Kultgen said. Sasso replied however, “That was not George Carlin.” 

Of note is that this marks Dudesy’s “second” comedy special, having previously generated an AI standup routine using the voice of Super Bowl champion Tom Brady. The former New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers Quarterback previously threatened legal action against Dudesy for the video which was removed.

(Cover Photo by Kevin Statham/Redferns)