John Lennon, George Carlin: Dead artists resurrected through technology
Can the dead sing, walk, perform, or act? The straight answer would be no, they simply cannot, but now, with the meteoric advancements of Artificial Intelligence, they can do all of this and so much more. However, resurrecting singers, actors, and other popular icons comes with a cost; the price being the ethics involved with their re-generation. Understand it through these examples.
George Carlin
Comedian George Carlin—who passed away in 2008—has become the latest artist to be digitally exhumed. An hour-long podcast special, titled George Carlin: I'm Glad I'm Dead, has recently been released by comedy AI, Dudesy. Carlin's daughter, Kelly Carlin, however, tweeted, "My dad spent a lifetime perfecting his craft from his very human life, brain and imagination. No machine will ever replace his genius."
Read the full statement here
John Lennon
The Beatles's John Lennon reportedly wrote and recorded Now and Then around 1977, but it was only in November 2023 that the audience got to hear the song, thanks to AI. Speaking about this experience, The Beatles's Paul McCartney said, "It was my buddy, who's been dead a long time, and here he was, back, and I'm working with him again."
Elvis Presley
After watching two back-to-back films about the "King of Rock n Roll" Elvis Presley (Elvis and Priscilla), maybe it's time to see him...live. He will be virtually resurrected (through AI and holographic projections) in an innovative immersive concert experience titled Elvis Evolution this November. While some fans found this a remarkable feat, others were tough to please, with them considering this a "disrespectful" move.
Uttam Kumar
The Indian cine industry is not far behind when it comes to infusing life into the dead. A recent example is Srijit Mukherji's Oti Uttam, where AI/visual effects have been leveraged to make it appear as if late Bengali superstar Uttam Kumar is in the same frame as others! The film will evoke nostalgic sentiments for an entire generation that grew up idolizing Kumar.
