Daughter of George Carlin horrified someone cloned her dad with AI for hour special
(2024/01/12)
- Reference: 1705023261
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2024/01/12/george_carlin_comedian_cloned/
- Source link:
The makers of an hour-long AI-generated comedy special mimicking the late and great American comedian and actor George Carlin have been criticized for, apparently, not obtaining explicit permission from his family to impersonate his voice and style for the vid.
The show, titled "George Carlin: I'm Glad I'm Dead," was [1]uploaded on Tuesday to YouTube by actor and comedian Will Sasso and podcaster Chad Kultgen. It appears the duo have crafted an AI personality called Dudesy that attempts to impersonate celebrities – in this instance, George Carlin. The underlying fake persona doesn't just try to sound like the modern-day philosopher, while acknowledging repeatedly it's not him, it uses a script that he didn't write either.
Carlin's daughter Kelly wasn't particularly amused to learn the pair had trained some generative neural network on her father's work. This week she [2]claimed "zero permission [was] granted" to the creators for the episode, and slammed the AI-based routine. She said her dad had spent a lifetime perfecting his craft, and no machine (or someone hiding behind a machine) could ever replace his genius.
[3]
"These AI generated products are clever attempts at trying to recreate a mind that will never exist again. 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," she [4]added .
[5]
[6]
When asked on Twitter what's the problem with an AI impressionist riffing off her dad, Carlin [7]replied : "I’m worried about his legacy. His reputation. His art. I’m allowed to do that as his daughter and while I’m alive."
We've asked Sasso and Kultgen for their side of the story. We'll leave it up to you to judge how good the impersonation is.
[8]Uncle Sam will pay for your big ideas to end AI voice-cloning fraud
[9]Strike over? US actors may return to work with top-tier 'progressive AI protections'
[10]Darth Vader voice actor James Earl Jones allows AI to take over the role
Widely accessible generative AI tools and a wealth of content that can be easily scraped from the internet has made it easy to train computers to replicate someone's work.
Performers in the entertainment industry have grown increasingly concerned that their faces or voices can be cloned using AI without compensation, and that their digital replica will be used in TV, films, commercials and replace them in their jobs.
[11]
SAG-AFTRA, the union representing actors and media professionals in the US, has successfully [12]negotiated with media studios, forcing them to obtain explicit consent for generating digital replicas of actors' faces, bodies, and voices using AI, and must compensate them accordingly when they're used.
At CES this week the union announced it had entered into a deal with Replica Studios, an AI startup, to license members' voices to be used in video games and other media.
"Recent developments in AI technology have underscored the importance of protecting the rights of voice talent, particularly as game studios explore more efficient ways to create their games," SAG-AFTRA's chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland [13]said in a statement. "With this agreement, we have achieved fully informed consent and fair compensation when it comes to the use of our members' voices and performances."
[14]
Some union members, however, are unhappy about the deal that was [15]reportedly negotiated without their knowledge and approval. ®
PS: Tennessee has signed into law its Ensuring Likeness Voice and Image Security (yes, ELVIS) Act, which is [16]said to provide protections for songwriters, performers, and other professionals from the misuse of their voices with AI.
Get our [17]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kONMe7YnO8
[2] https://twitter.com/kelly_carlin/status/1745265195164070171
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZaDHdxh0vpRzNWX4mDQNKgAAAUE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[4] https://twitter.com/kelly_carlin/status/1745261544001466689
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZaDHdxh0vpRzNWX4mDQNKgAAAUE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZaDHdxh0vpRzNWX4mDQNKgAAAUE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://twitter.com/kelly_carlin/status/1745452531223048407
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/05/ftc_voice_cloning_solution/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2023/11/13/actors_strike_ai/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2022/09/26/darth_vader_voiced_by_ai/
[11] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZaDHdxh0vpRzNWX4mDQNKgAAAUE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2023/11/13/actors_strike_ai/
[13] https://www.sagaftra.org/sag-aftra-and-replica-studios-introduce-groundbreaking-ai-voice-agreement-ces
[14] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZaDHdxh0vpRzNWX4mDQNKgAAAUE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[15] https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-67922303
[16] https://www.tn.gov/governor/news/2024/1/10/tennessee-first-in-the-nation-to-address-ai-impact-on-music-industry.html
[17] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
The show, titled "George Carlin: I'm Glad I'm Dead," was [1]uploaded on Tuesday to YouTube by actor and comedian Will Sasso and podcaster Chad Kultgen. It appears the duo have crafted an AI personality called Dudesy that attempts to impersonate celebrities – in this instance, George Carlin. The underlying fake persona doesn't just try to sound like the modern-day philosopher, while acknowledging repeatedly it's not him, it uses a script that he didn't write either.
Carlin's daughter Kelly wasn't particularly amused to learn the pair had trained some generative neural network on her father's work. This week she [2]claimed "zero permission [was] granted" to the creators for the episode, and slammed the AI-based routine. She said her dad had spent a lifetime perfecting his craft, and no machine (or someone hiding behind a machine) could ever replace his genius.
[3]
"These AI generated products are clever attempts at trying to recreate a mind that will never exist again. 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," she [4]added .
[5]
[6]
When asked on Twitter what's the problem with an AI impressionist riffing off her dad, Carlin [7]replied : "I’m worried about his legacy. His reputation. His art. I’m allowed to do that as his daughter and while I’m alive."
We've asked Sasso and Kultgen for their side of the story. We'll leave it up to you to judge how good the impersonation is.
[8]Uncle Sam will pay for your big ideas to end AI voice-cloning fraud
[9]Strike over? US actors may return to work with top-tier 'progressive AI protections'
[10]Darth Vader voice actor James Earl Jones allows AI to take over the role
Widely accessible generative AI tools and a wealth of content that can be easily scraped from the internet has made it easy to train computers to replicate someone's work.
Performers in the entertainment industry have grown increasingly concerned that their faces or voices can be cloned using AI without compensation, and that their digital replica will be used in TV, films, commercials and replace them in their jobs.
[11]
SAG-AFTRA, the union representing actors and media professionals in the US, has successfully [12]negotiated with media studios, forcing them to obtain explicit consent for generating digital replicas of actors' faces, bodies, and voices using AI, and must compensate them accordingly when they're used.
At CES this week the union announced it had entered into a deal with Replica Studios, an AI startup, to license members' voices to be used in video games and other media.
"Recent developments in AI technology have underscored the importance of protecting the rights of voice talent, particularly as game studios explore more efficient ways to create their games," SAG-AFTRA's chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland [13]said in a statement. "With this agreement, we have achieved fully informed consent and fair compensation when it comes to the use of our members' voices and performances."
[14]
Some union members, however, are unhappy about the deal that was [15]reportedly negotiated without their knowledge and approval. ®
PS: Tennessee has signed into law its Ensuring Likeness Voice and Image Security (yes, ELVIS) Act, which is [16]said to provide protections for songwriters, performers, and other professionals from the misuse of their voices with AI.
Get our [17]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kONMe7YnO8
[2] https://twitter.com/kelly_carlin/status/1745265195164070171
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZaDHdxh0vpRzNWX4mDQNKgAAAUE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[4] https://twitter.com/kelly_carlin/status/1745261544001466689
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZaDHdxh0vpRzNWX4mDQNKgAAAUE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZaDHdxh0vpRzNWX4mDQNKgAAAUE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://twitter.com/kelly_carlin/status/1745452531223048407
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/05/ftc_voice_cloning_solution/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2023/11/13/actors_strike_ai/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2022/09/26/darth_vader_voiced_by_ai/
[11] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZaDHdxh0vpRzNWX4mDQNKgAAAUE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2023/11/13/actors_strike_ai/
[13] https://www.sagaftra.org/sag-aftra-and-replica-studios-introduce-groundbreaking-ai-voice-agreement-ces
[14] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZaDHdxh0vpRzNWX4mDQNKgAAAUE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[15] https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-67922303
[16] https://www.tn.gov/governor/news/2024/1/10/tennessee-first-in-the-nation-to-address-ai-impact-on-music-industry.html
[17] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Why use A-I? Because there's no other way to get anything close to the essence of Carlin.
nautica
George Carlin--
“I do this real moron thing, and it's called thinking. And apparently I'm not a very good American because I like to form my own opinions.”
“I don't like ass kissers, flag wavers or team players. I like people who buck the system. Individualists. I often warn people: "Somewhere along the way, someone is going to tell you, 'There is no "I" in team.' What you should tell them is, 'Maybe not. But there is an "I" in independence, individuality and integrity.'" Avoid teams at all cost. Keep your circle small. Never join a group that has a name. If they say, "We're the So-and-Sos," take a walk. And if, somehow, you must join, if it's unavoidable, such as a union or a trade association, go ahead and join. But don't participate; it will be your death. And if they tell you you're not a team player, congratulate them on being observant.”
Re: Why use A-I? Because there's no other way to get anything close to the essence of Carlin.
jake
We've already had the essence of Carlin. We don't need a couple of money-grubbing idiots dragging a shallow approximation of his work into their bank accounts.
Malcolm Weir
There's a typo in the second paragraph: it reads "The show, titled "George Carlin: I'm Glad I'm Dead," was uploaded on Tuesday to YouTube by actor and comedian Will Sasso and podcaster Chad Kultgen.",
which should of course be:
"The show, titled "George Carlin: I'm Glad I'm Dead," was uploaded on Tuesday to YouTube by sleezeball and plagiarist Will Sasso and slimebucket Chad Kultgen."
Benegesserict Cumbersomberbatch
We'll leave it up to you to judge how good the impersonation is.
I won't give these thieves the satisfaction of one more view on their view counter.
I'm sure Rufus would have approved of AI generated Bill & Ted.