The estate of comedian George Carlin reached a settlement Monday with the creators of a podcast who had said they had used artificial intelligence to impersonate Mr. Carlin for a comedy special.
As part of the settlement, the podcast's two creators, Will Sasso and Chad Kultgen, agreed to permanently remove the comedy special and never repost it on any platform, according to Josh Schiller, an attorney for Carlin's estate. They also agreed not to use Mr. Carlin's image, voice or likeness on any platform without the estate's approval, according to court records.
Schiller declined to elaborate on whether the settlement included monetary damages, saying other parts of the settlement were confidential.
Carlin's estate filed the lawsuit in January, saying that Sasso and Kultgen, hosts of the “Dudesy” podcast, had infringed the estate's copyright by training an artificial intelligence algorithm on five decades of Carlin's work for the special. “George Carlin: I'm Glad I'm Dead,” which was posted on YouTube. The lawsuit also said they had illegally used Mr. Carlin's name and likeness.
“The world has begun to appreciate the power and potential dangers inherent in artificial intelligence tools, which can imitate voices, generate fake photographs and alter videos,” Schiller said in a statement Tuesday.
He added: “This is not a problem that will go away on its own. “It must be met with swift and forceful action in the courts, and the ai software companies whose technology is being weaponized must also take some degree of responsibility.”
A spokeswoman for Sasso declined to comment. A Kultgen spokesperson could not immediately be reached.
Kelly Carlin, George Carlin's daughter, wrote in a statement that she was glad the lawsuit was resolved so quickly.
“While it is a shame that this happened, I hope this case serves as a warning about the dangers posed by artificial intelligence technologies and the need for appropriate safeguards,” Ms Carlin said.
“George Carlin: I'm Glad I'm Dead” began with a voice saying, “Hello, my name is Dudesy and I'm a comedy ai.” He went on to say, “I just want you to know very clearly that what you are about to hear is not George Carlin. It is my personification of George Carlin that I developed in exactly the 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 topic I think he would have been interested in today,” the voice continued, before a different voice that sounded as if Carlin did a riff. Current events, including homelessness, police, mass shootings, and artificial intelligence.
Sasso spokesperson Danielle Del said in January that the podcast's character, Dudesy, was a fictional character created by the hosts, and not an actual ai.
