Along with all the other issues AI is creating in society, now it’s the subject of a lawsuit from the estate of the late George Carlin. Comedians Chad Kultgen and Will Sasso used AI to create a comedy routine that imitates Carlin, and his heirs aren’t finding it funny. The special is titled “I’m Glad I’m Dead,” and it aired on the comedians’ Dudesy podcast.

It didn’t take long for Carlin’s heirs to file suit, citing violation of the right of publicity and copyright infringement. The defendants have admitted to taking thousands of hours of material copyrighted by Carlin and inputting it into an AI model. Then, the model was used to mimic Carlin’s voice and create a script. The estate is arguing that this goes far beyond the authorized use that’s allowed for parody, and is an unauthorized use that infringes on his copyright.

The case is clearly important to his heirs, but it may also be important to society and the artistic community in a larger way. As this is the first major lawsuit of its kind, it could set a precedent for the ways AI can and can’t be used in artistic expression and endeavors. The comedians who are being sued repeatedly said at the start of the podcast that they were not Carlin, and likened what they were doing to any human comedian doing an impression of another comedian.

Then, they said to give a warm welcome to George Carlin.

It seems as though they aren’t clear on picking a side. Either they’re marketing it as AI-Carlin or they’re not. However, the biggest issue is that a human comedian would probably not be facing the same kind of lawsuit for imitating Carlin. People like Weird Al Yankovic have been making parody songs, for example, without facing significant legal issues.

The case may or may not make it all the way to a trial, and could be settled out of court. Anyone who uses AI for their art or plans to, though, should pay close attention to the outcome of the case. It may be the first one, but it’s not likely to be the only one.

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