Ya’ll, this is so weird, eery, and, quite frankly, terrifying. George Carlin appeared on the Dudesy AI podcast. Yes, there is an AI podcast. The podcast has two human hosts (I think) named Will Sasso and Chat Kultgen. I’m 57, so I’ve not heard of them before.
Will Sasso is a Canadian actor and comedian on MAD TV from 1997 to 2002. I wasn’t a big MAD TV watcher, so.
Chat Kultgen is an American novelist, journalist, and podcaster. His note to fame is that he wrote a book about How To Win The Bachelor.
So, these two blockheads allowed AI access to their emails, social media accounts, online purchases, and web history searches to create this AI podcast called Dudesy. They sold their souls.
Will Sasso and Chad Kultgen have been selected by a state of the art entertainment AI to host this first of its kind comedy podcast. Welcome to Dudesy! Our hosts have been convinced to grant the Dudesy AI access to all of their personal emails, text messages, social media accounts, purchases, and browsing histories so that it can tailor the show to their specific personalities and entertain you at the highest level possible. Every episode is an experiment that generates data that will be used to make the next episode even better! Eventually Dudesy will be perfect and so will you. – Dudesypod.com
Wow. Just wow. What in the world? I have not listened to any of their episodes. They have a little over 90 episodes right now. But I did see a couple of titles I might try out.
It’s the latest episode in which AI resurrects George Carlin on their podcast, and that has raised eyebrows. And George Carlin’s daughter isn’t pleased about it either, and she should be upset!
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…1/3
— Kelly Carlin (@kelly_carlin) January 11, 2024
But What About Copyright Material?
I am sure some sort of copyright material has been breached. Maybe? But what if I put up an embedded YouTube video of one of George’s old stand-up routines here on my blog? Wouldn’t that be copyright infringement?
But for AI, generating a digital George Carlin and creating new material like he’s here with us today doesn’t sit well with me. And I hope it doesn’t sit well with you either. Do you think this is a good idea? Can we not just let our dead be dead and remember their work with our memories and, okay, yes, digital content that is uploaded on YouTube? But from the natural person, not the AI fake likeness.
And yes, like with all podcasts these days, Dudesy is also on YouTube, so their episode with George is there.
Hopefully, I clipped it so that the video starts at the 22:30 mark and where they show a clip of this new AI-generated George Carlin. I was relieved to see the guys seem slightly uncomfortable with it.
Here’s another question: What is the infringement if the AI-generated George Carlin isn’t using OLD material but creating new material? If the AI bot isn’t using old material, is he infringing on George’s likeness instead? His image? His voice? His mind?
When one X user asked Carlin’s daughter if “this clown had permission,” Kelly reposted the question and wrote, “ZERO PERMISSION GRANTED.” – Breitbart.com
Whatever the answer is, it’s all messed up. We shouldn’t be using AI for this, but you know it will happen when you introduce stuff like this to men and women. We can’t help ourselves. We have moved away from morals and virtues and plunged headfirst into this digital crap.
It’s making me curb my time on social media, that’s for sure.
Simon Kent’s piece at Breitbart.com inspired this blog entry. Thanks.
As a big fan of Carlin’s this bothers me from an authenticity standpoint and an artistic one. I agree with his daughter 100%.
As a freedom-loving American, this is dangerous and goes beyond the arts.