Los Angeles Times

Brian Merchant: The George Carlin auto-generated comedy special is everything that’s wrong with AI right now

George Carlin in a photo from 1982.“ George Carlin: I’ m Glad I’ m Dead” purports to be a comedy special produced by artificial intelligence trained to mimic the legendary stand-up’ s style.

I knew it was going to be bad. By the time I sat down to watch the thing, much of the internet was already furious that a “state-of-the-art-entertainment AI” called Dudesy had generated an hourlong comedy special in the style of George Carlin, without the consent of the late comic’s horrified family. But I wasn’t prepared for it to be so bad.

The special, tastefully titled is one of the most unpleasant things ostensibly produced for entertainment purposes that I have ever sat through. It’s a stroll through an uncanny valley of Carlin’s comedy, an audio program in which a serviceable replica of the familiar raspy voice delivers “jokes” on topics from mass shootings to Taylor Swift

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