Matthew McConaughey logos 'Alright, alright, alright'

Matthew McConaughey and Scott Rice host dialog with movie director and screenwriter Jeff Nichols on October 1, 2019 for Script to Display screen. Credit score: Moody Faculty of Communication

Texas-born Hollywood actor Matthew McConaughey is combatting synthetic intelligence by trademarking himself.

That features not solely his personal likeness however his iconic catchphrase “Alright, alright, alright,” first uttered in Dazed and Confused, the coming-of-age stoner movie that gave him his breakout position.

The Oscar-winning actor additionally recognized for Dallas Patrons Membership, Interstellar, True Detective, Contact and different movie and streaming initiatives secured eight logos from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Workplace, the Wall Avenue Journal experiences.

This makes McConaughey among the many first celebrities vying to ascertain authorized precedent in opposition to AI misuse, together with pretend photos, audio and video manipulation of his likeness with using AI instruments.

The intent of the logos, McConaughey’s lawyer instructed the Wall Avenue Journal, will not be solely to guard in opposition to misuse of his digital id, but in addition to capitalize off of any licensed use.

“My group and I need to know that when my voice or likeness is ever used, it’s as a result of I permitted and signed off on it,” McConaughey instructed the Wall Avenue Journal.

Nevertheless, McConaughey isn’t any crusader in opposition to AI. Certainly, he’s embraced it and even invested significantly in it.

For instance, the actor was an early investor in Elevenlabs, an AI firm, which he makes use of to launch a Spanish language model of his e-newsletter “Lyrics of Livin.”

Nevertheless, different celebrities have seen the darkish aspect of celeb deepfakes — together with Taylor Swift, whose likeness was utilized in sexually express content material that went viral on a number of platforms in January 2024 earlier than being scrubbed from the web.

Swift’s expertise led lawmakers to introduce the bipartisan No AIFRAUD Act. Nevertheless, the invoice died on the vine with out being handed.

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