George Carlin’s daughter Kelly Carlin has taken aim at a new comedy special in her father’s voice which was created using artificial intelligence.
Stand-up and actor George Carlin, one of the most influential comedians of all time, died in 2008.
Earlier this week, the audio of an hour-long special titled I’m Glad I’m Dead was posted on the YouTube channel of a comedy AI known as Dudesy.
Dudesy is also the name of a podcast hosted by actors and comedians Will Sasso and Chad Kultgen that combines AI and comedy and has been described as a “first of its kind media experiment.”
At the start of the special, Dudesy explains that it is about to perform an impersonation of Carlin, comparing itself to Andy Kaufman performing as Elvis Presley or Will Ferrell doing an impression of George W Bush.
The AI then switches into a recreation of Carlin’s voice for an act that tackles contemporary subjects including the Trump presidency, Elon Musk and Twitter.
Kelly Carlin and her father, George Carlin— (Getty)
In response to the special, Kelly Carlin wrote on X/Twitter: “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.”
In a follow-up post, Kelly Carlin thanked those supporting her statement against the AI bot, which she said “has arrogantly stepped over a line in the world of comedy today that will surely affect dead artists and their estates now”.
She also tagged Robin Williams’ daughter Zelda, Joan Rivers’ daughter Melissa and the official account of the late Garry Shandling account, saying: “They’re coming for you next.”
Speaking to The Independent in 2022 for a story about her father’s continued relevancy after his death, Kelly Carlin pointed out that her father was always particular about the words he uttered on stage: “Of course he didn’t like politically correct language, but at the same time he taught me from day one that the n-word is the worst word and you can never say it.
“He taught me you should never punch down, and that Black and brown people are getting f***ed all day long by this government, and women, too. My dad was a progressive; he was always for the underdog.”
