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Many stand-up comedians pride themselves on pushing boundaries and making viewers uncomfortable in their live shows but a new special is taking that idea to a different level. George Carlin: I’m Glad I’m Dead is a new hour-long show by the late political firebrand its producers claim was created using AI. Carlin's daughter says neither she nor her family were consulted about the special, which she has dismissed as a pale imitation of both her father's work and human comedy in general.
I’m Glad I’m Dead arrives via "Dudesy," a podcast hosted by the very real Chad Kultgen and Will Sasso. The pod's website describes it as an AI trial in which "every episode is an experiment that generates data that will be used to make the next episode even better."
Kultgen is an author while Sasso is an actor recently seen in Loudermilk and Young Sheldon. In an interview with Business Insider, Sasso denied suggestions that the AI is fake and claimed an NDA prevented him from revealing the specifics behind the technology used to create the Carlin special.
The fake Carlin makes it clear in the special that he is in no way affiliated with the comedian, who passed away in 2008.
“I just want to let you know very clearly that what you’re about to hear is not George Carlin. It’s my impersonation of George Carlin that I developed in the exact same way a human impressionist would,” Dudesy/Carlin says at the top of the special. “I listened to all of George Carlin’s material and did my best to imitate his voice, cadence and attitude as well as the subject matter I think would have interested him today."
The special includes Dudesy/Carlin riffing on mass shootings and social media, as well as billionaire CEOs such as Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, plus the concept of AI itself and how it threatens comedians.
Carlin's daughter Kelly is, understandably, not happy with the outcome. "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," she wrote on Twitter. "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."
Kelly continued, “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.”
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