Matthew McConaughey has had enough, enough, enough with the AI deepfakes.
Driving the news: In what appears to be a first-of-its-kind move, actor and unofficial Texas Longhorns mascot Mathew McConaughey has successfully trademarked his own likeness to help stop AI-generated posts that use his image and voice.
McConaughey was granted trademarks for videos of him smiling, audio of his voice, and even his signature line from Dazed and Confused, “Alright, alright, alright.”
Catch-up: A-listers from Taylor Swift to Keanu Reeves have increasingly had to contend with their image and voice being used in AI deepfakes to sell products, create illicit images, or, in Reeves’ case, peddle misinformation about him getting married.
Actor Bryan Cranston recently called out OpenAI after AI-generated clips of him appeared on the Sora platform, even though the model was supposed to require individuals to opt in for the use of their voice and likeness.
Why it matters: The water is very murky around AI and trademarks, particularly when it comes to social media posts. McConaughey’s trademark move may be a way for public-facing people to combat deepfakes.
Yes, but: The volume of AI-generated posts has created a whack-a-mole situation. Even if McConaughey’s team of lawyers successfully sues one nefarious deepfake poster, many more will likely have popped up before they leave the courtroom.
Zoom out: It’s not just celebs. Denmark is looking to adopt a similar strategy by providing all of its citizens with legal ownership over their own image, a move that would give everyone the right to demand AI platforms remove content that borrows their likeness.—LA