The estate of legendary comedian George Carlin has reached a settlement with the media company it sued over a fake hourlong comedy special that purportedly used artificial intelligence to recreate Carlin's style and material. The settlement agreement, filed with a federal court and awaiting approval from a judge, requires the podcast outlet Dudesy to permanently take down the special and refrain from using Carlin's image, voice, or likeness without express written approval from the estate.
The lawsuit, filed on Jan. 25, was prompted by the release of an audio special titled “George Carlin: I'm Glad I'm Dead,” where a synthesized version of Carlin delivered commentary on current events. The defendants, Dudesy and two hosts, released a companion podcast episode discussing the clips.
