Dan Aykroyd says estates of late stars should be compensated for AI-generated videos

Dan Aykroyd is shown in this undated handout image from The History Channel series "The UnBelievable with Dan Aykroyd." THE CANADIAN PRESS/A&E Television Networks, LLC, Luis Mora

TORONTO — Dan Aykroyd says he’s not opposed to an AI-generated alter ego extending his screen career into the afterlife.

The “Ghostbusters” star and founding “SNL” cast-member says he’d be open to the idea as long as his estate is compensated for any likenesses created by artificial intelligence.

Aykroyd is currently hosting a second season of the History Channel’s wild-but-true series “The UnBelievable with Dan Aykroyd,” which he mused could be a good candidate for such experiments.

“Certainly if History Channel and AI want to generate me after I’m gone and have me out there doing the show, they can. But they have to pay my estate, my family, to do so,” Aykroyd said in a recent video call from his family’s Ontario farm in the Thousand Islands.

Aykroyd floated the notion when asked for his thoughts on a proliferation of online videos in which late stars are posthumously positioned in invented scenarios, among them Tupac Shakur, Sammy Davis Jr., Michael Jackson and Robin Williams, whose daughter recently lambasted the trend.

Aykroyd said it’s up to legal reps for deceased stars to go after platforms that run unauthorized material, drawing an analogy to copyright violations in music.

“The legal representatives of these individuals are going to have to go to the carriers and say there has to be some kind of rights compensation,” Aykroyd said.

Aykroyd executive produces History’s non-fiction series in which wild historical events are dramatized with archival images and re-enactments, and bolstered with expert commentary.

An episode breakdown for this season touts tales about wild prison escapes, a family cursed with blue skin and the time a lawn mower killed a spectator at a football game.

“A lot of these stories bring up an interest in history, in science and technology and (the combination of) information, education and entertainment, I think, makes for a very great success,” says the Ottawa native, who splits his time with Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts.

New episodes air Fridays and stream on StackTV.

Aykroyd also appears on Flavour Network’s “A History of the World in Six Glasses,” streaming on StackTV.

That series dovetails with his expertise in spirits as co-founder of Crystal Head Vodka, which he proudly says is made in Newfoundland.

Aykroyd suspects a buy-local movement has helped domestic sales of the product famous for its skull-shaped bottle, as cross-border economic tensions largely removed U.S. alcohol from Canadian store shelves, bars and restaurants.

He bemoaned sovereignty threats and ongoing U.S. tariffs on some Canadian goods, but said he’s mindful of preserving his vodka’s U.S. sales.

“We want to keep our market in the States alive. It’s too bad that this is where we’re at,” said Aykroyd.

“But obviously the U.S. administration sees that they can get revenues and certainly I think some tariff adjustment was necessary in some of the bigger industries.

“As far as Canada becoming the 51st state, I will say that Canada is not for sale, but we do have lots of things to sell. So I encourage the chief executive of the United States, who is a deal-maker going way back in his career, to come up and make some deals and accept our deals.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 16, 2025.

Cassandra Szklarski, The Canadian Press