George Carlin has been dead for 15 years, but artificial intelligence doesn’t seem to mind.
A video billed as an AI-generated “George Carlin impersonation” was posted Wednesday on YouTube, to the chagrin of Carlin’s daughter and many fans. The material was generated by an AI program called Dudesy, and delivered in a simulacrum of Carlin’s speaking voice.
“My dad spent a lifetime perfecting his craft from his very human life, brain and imagination,” Kelly Carlin wrote Wednesday on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. “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,” she continued. “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.”
The hourlong special, “George Carlin: I’m Glad I’m Dead,” uses an approximation of Carlin’s voice for digs at topics like mass shootings, transgender people and former President Donald Trump. It begins with a disclaimer from a computer-generated voice: “I just want to let you know very clearly that what you’re about to hear is not George Carlin. It’s my impersonation of George Carlin.”
Carlin, generally regarded as one of the most influential stand-up comics in the history of the form, died in 2008. Later that year, he became the first comedian to be posthumously awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.
The “Dudesy” program appears as a “co-host” on a podcast of the same name, alongside actor Will Sasso and author Chad Kultgen.
Kelly Carlin, who is also a radio host, helped write and produce some of her father’s work while he was alive. Following her disavowal of the Dudesy video, one person accused her of only being “concerned about money.”
“I’m worried about his legacy,” Kelly replied Thursday. “His reputation. His art. I’m allowed to do that as his daughter and while I’m alive. It’s important that these corporations don’t rape & pillage art. Don’t assume you understand who I am and what values I live by.”
The AI does a striking job of capturing Carlin’s sensibilities, tone and joke structure ― albeit without the human wit, charm or warmth of the comedian himself. The Dudesy program had a wealth of material to work with, as Carlin released a brand-new special nearly every other year and left behind 14 unique hours of comedy.
Kelly Carlin said in multiple posts on X that Sasso and Kultgen did not approach her family to ask permission for their project. She further suggested that Sasso looked “worried” in a recent Instagram post related to the special — and that he “should be.”
Representatives for Sasso and Kultgen did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment.
Kelly warned on X that AI technology “will surely affect dead artists and their estates” for years to come — and even tagged some relevant names in the process.
“Hey @zeldawilliams @MelRivers @GarryShandling we should talk,” she wrote, addressing the daughters of the late Robin Williams and Joan Rivers, as well as the account of the deceased Garry Shandling. “They’re coming for you next.”