Because it doesn’t come from a person. Sure, a person wrote the script and handles the generator. But we haven’t decided yet as humans whether something made entirely by the machine with minimum human input counts yet as agency.

When a human impersonates a celebrity, it’s partially imperfect. There’s a person underneath that can’t hide and, most importantly, someone we can engage with in good faith to discern intent. They can tells us whether it’s satire, admiration, greed or whatever. Things we can relate to.

When a machine does it, it usually is way too pitch perfect. And it’s separate one or two degrees from the initiator, the person running the model, posting, etc. This makes it fall on the uncanny valley. The machine cannot be asked for its intention, it has no emotions, it conceals no motive, it posses no goal. You have to hunt down the owner and this makes it so the machine is perceived as a soulless puppet. You cannot relate nor empathize with its product. It’s a nothing imitation, with no art or passion.

Part of this is because he is not doing a Carlin comedy routine, he’s writing and putting words, implying thoughts and beliefs into Carlin’s voice. This is fundamentally different and more transgressing of Carlin’s legacy. An Elvis impersonator, sings Elvis songs as Elvis had sung them. They don’t write new original songs then try to pass them at if Elvis is now singing, and implicitly endorsing, new material.

Then on the topic of whether it’s a crime, it’s only if there’s genuine intent. Entertainment and satire are some of the valid reasons. And even then, there are people who disagree and find them tasteless and disrespectful. This is not new, not everyone is happy to see their passed away loved ones or idols be mocked or reanimated as puppets.