The estate of late comedian George Carlin has officially settled a lawsuit concerning an artificial intelligence-generated special of the comedian, released back in January by the 'Dudesy' podcast.
"George Carlin: I'm Glad I'm Dead," a supposed hour-long special produced by artificial intelligence, was released podcast although Carlin passed away in 2008, a voice akin to his performed material on modern issues including defunding the police and trans rights in a manner reminiscent of Carlin.
The estate filed a lawsuit, claiming that Carlin's name, image, and likeness were breached, in addition to copyrights, by the special.
(Photo: Mark Mainz/Getty Images) George Carlin's estate has sued the creators of an AI-generated comedy special that replicates the late comedian's voice and humor style.
According to Josh Schiller, an attorney representing Mr. Carlin's estate, the two podcast creators, Will Sasso, and Chad Kultgen, agreed to permanently delete the comedy special and never rerun it on any platform.
According to court documents, they also consented to refrain from using Mr. Carlin's voice, picture, or likeness on any platform without the estate's consent.
In actuality, sources indicate that six days after the Carlin estate sued Sasso and Kultgen, they removed the offending digital special on January 31. The case docket indicates that US District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpon has not yet signed the order.
Declaring that other aspects of the deal were confidential, Mr. Schiller declined to provide more details about whether the settlement included monetary damages.
When the AI-generated program was originally aired, Kelly Carlin, the comedian's daughter, released a harsh statement about it, labeling it "a poorly executed facsimile cobbled together by unscrupulous individuals." She expressed her satisfaction at having the problem resolved in a statement on Tuesday.
Read Also: Billie Eilish, Katy Perry, and More Than 200 Artists Write to AI Developers for Protection
Laws on AI Deepfakes
Deepfakes produced by AI and uninvited artist ripoffs only get more problematic. Bipartisan action by US lawmakers in response to the Taylor Swift controversy has resulted in the introduction of the DEFIANCE Act, also known as the "Disrupt Explicit Forged Images and Non-Consensual Edits" of 2024.
Concerned about the distribution of harmful and fake films and photos, the legislation attempts to give victims, women in particular, of "digital forgery," a legal framework to take legal action against those who disseminate such misleading material.
The catalyst of the legislative endeavor was the dissemination of synthetically produced sexually explicit images of the well-known singer Taylor Swift on several social media networks.
AI Deepfake Ban
Last February, plans were unveiled by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to prohibit AI deepfakes for all clients. Only businesses and governmental entities are currently protected from the restriction.
In addition to this comprehensive protection against deepfake impersonations, the FTC is reportedly discussing whether to make it illegal for a company, such as an AI platform that generates text, video, or images, to offer goods or services that could be used to deceive customers by impersonation
Related Article: Georgia Could Soon Ban Political AI Deepfakes
(Photo: Tech Times)
