Dan Aykroyd says he's not opposed to AI-generated alter egos extending their on-screen careers into the afterlife.
The “Ghostbusters” star and founding cast member of “SNL” said he is open to the idea as long as his estate is compensated for the likeness created by artificial intelligence.
Aykroyd is currently hosting the second season of the History Channel's wild-but-true series The UnBelievable with Dan Aykroyd, and he thinks the series could be a good candidate for such an experiment.
“Sure, if the History Channel and the AI want to keep me on the show after I'm gone, they can do that, but they have to pay my estate and my family to do that,” Aykroyd said in a recent video call from her family's Ontario farm in the Thousand Islands.
Aykroyd floated the idea when asked for his thoughts on the prevalence of online videos that place deceased stars posthumously in invented scenarios. These include Tupac Shakur, Sammy Davis Jr., Michael Jackson and Robin Williams, whose daughter recently slammed the trend.
Dan Aykroyd is shown in this undated handout image from the History Channel series “The UnBelievable with Dan Aykroyd.''
Handout/Canadian Press
Aykroyd said it was up to legal personnel to go after the platforms on which the late star was distributing unauthorized material, analogizing it to copyright infringement in music.
Get the latest national news
For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news and have it delivered directly to you as it happens.
“The legal representatives of these individuals are going to have to go to the carriers and say they need some kind of compensation,” Aykroyd said.
Aykroyd is the executive producer of History's nonfiction series, which dramatizes wild historical events with archival images and re-enactments and augments them with expert commentary.
This season's episode breakdown touts stories of a wild prison escape, a family cursed with blue skin, and the time a lawnmower kills a spectator at a football game.
“Many of these stories spark interest in history, science and technology, and I think the (combination) of information, education and entertainment will be very successful,” says the Ottawa native, who splits his time between Martha's Vineyard and Massachusetts.
current trends
Documents reveal new witness statements to RCMP about missing NS children
Third arrest in connection to B.C. ostrich farms
New episodes air Fridays and stream on StackTV.
Aykroyd also appears on Flavor Network's “A History of the World in Six Glasses,” which streams on StackTV.
The series aligns with the spirits expertise of the Crystal Head Vodka co-founder, who proudly says the vodka is made in Newfoundland.
Entertainment Details More Videos
Aykroyd suspects the buy-local movement is helping sell the product, famous for its skull-shaped bottles, domestically at a time when cross-border economic tensions have removed most U.S. alcohol from Canadian stores, bars and restaurants.
He lamented the threat to sovereignty and continued U.S. tariffs on some Canadian products, but said he is mindful of keeping his vodka sold in the United States.
“We want to keep the U.S. market alive. It's unfortunate that this is where we are,” Aykroyd said.
“But clearly the U.S. government thinks it can generate revenue, and certainly some large industries have had to make tariff adjustments.
“When it comes to Canada becoming the 51st province, I say Canada is not for sale, but we have a lot to sell. So I encourage American chief executives who have made deals throughout their careers to come out themselves and make some deals and accept our deals.”
© 2025 The Canadian Press