This isn't the first time "Dudesy" has used this tactic. In April, they published a similar fake special featuring NFL star Tom Brady, which also led to threats of legal action. The show's premise involves two hosts allowing an AI to access their digital data to generate episode prompts and concepts, although it's unclear how much AI actually factors into the podcast's design. Amidst the controversy, a representative for Sasso admitted that the AI central to "Dudesy" is not real, but a "fictional podcast character", and that the Carlin special was written by Kultgen. The Carlin estate plans to proceed with the lawsuit regardless.
Key takeaways:
- The comedy podcast and YouTube show, Dudesy, hosted by Will Sasso and Chad Kultgen, is facing a lawsuit from the estate of late comedian George Carlin for creating an hour-long special titled "George Carlin: I’m Glad I’m Dead!" using AI technology trained on Carlin's body of work.
- The Carlin estate is seeking to prohibit the Dudesy duo from using Carlin’s copyright material to create future “specials” and to compel them to “destroy any video or audio copies” of "I’m Glad I’m Dead!".
- The Dudesy show, which launched two years ago, claims to use AI to generate episode prompts and conceits, but it's not clear to what extent artificial intelligence actually factors into the design of the podcast.
- A representative for Sasso told the New York Times that the AI central to Dudesy’s conceit is not actually an AI, but a “fictional podcast character created by two human beings.” The rep also noted that the Carlin special was in fact written by Kultgen himself.