Dan Aykroyd says he wouldn't mind an AI-created alter ego extending his screen career into the afterlife.
The “Ghostbusters” star and “SNL” cast member says he would be open to the idea as long as his estate is compensated for any AI-generated likenesses.
Aykroyd is currently hosting the second season of the History Channel's wild but true series Unbelievable with Dan Aykroyd, which he thinks would be a good candidate for such experiments.
“Of course, if the History Channel and AI want to create me after I'm gone and have me on the show, they can. But they'll have to pay my estate, my family to do it,” Aykroyd said during a recent video call from his family's farm in Ontario's Thousand Islands.
Aykroyd floated the idea when asked what he thought about the proliferation of online videos featuring posthumously deceased stars in made-up scenarios, including Tupac Shakur, Sammy Davis Jr., Michael Jackson and Robin Williams, whose daughter recently criticized the trend.
Dan Aykroyd is pictured in this undated image from The History Channel series “Unbelievable with Dan Aykroyd.”
Handout/Canadian Press
Aykroyd said legal representatives for deceased stars should pursue platforms that host unauthorized material, drawing an analogy to music copyright infringement.
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“The legal representatives of these individuals are going to have to go to the carriers and say there should be some kind of redressal rights,” Aykroyd said.
The Aykroyd executive produces the non-fiction series History, which dramatizes wild historical events through archival images and re-enactments, as well as expert commentary.
This season's episodes feature stories of wild prison breaks, a family cursed with blue skin, and a lawnmower killing a spectator at a football game.
“A lot of these stories create interest in history, science and technology, and (the combination of) information, education and entertainment, I think makes for a very big hit,” says the Ottawa native, who spends his time on Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts.
New episodes air on Fridays and stream on StackTV.
Aykroyd also appears on the Flavor Network's “History of the World in Six Points,” airing on StackTV.
This series of articles follows his experience in spirits as co-founder of Crystal Head Vodka, which he proudly claims is made in Newfoundland.
Aykroyd suspects the “buy local” movement has boosted domestic sales of the product, known for its skull-shaped bottle, as cross-border economic tensions have largely removed American spirits from the shelves of Canadian stores, bars and restaurants.
He deplored threats to sovereignty and ongoing U.S. tariffs on some Canadian products, but said he was concerned about maintaining U.S. sales of his vodka.
“We want to keep our market alive in the States. It's a shame that this is where we are,” Aykroyd said.
“But obviously the US administration sees that they can generate revenue, and certainly I think some tariff adjustment was needed in some of the larger industries.
“As far as Canada becoming the 51st state, I will say that Canada is not for sale, but we do have something to sell. So I challenge the chief executive officer of the United States, who is a deal-maker in his career, to step up and do some deals and take our deals.”
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