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Actors have been warning for years that the AI industry plans to sell their likeness and voice, with or without their consent, and threaten to fire them from their jobs.
We’ve already seen actors take matters into their own hands, such as when Hollywood actors went on a mass walkout in 2023 fueled by these concerns, and when Scarlett Johansson threatened to sue OpenAI over a ChatGPT update that she claimed imitated her voice. Two voice actors also filed suit against the AI startup, accusing it of using their voices to train AI without their permission.
Tensions reached a fever pitch last year when an AI company announced an AI actor named Tilly Norwood. The news was met with near-universal backlash from both industry insiders and the general public, further fueling concerns that the industry would take jobs away from human actors.
Hollywood star Matthew McConaughey has come up with a clever new defense tactic, ahead of the industry’s unauthorized AI imitation of his likeness and voice. as wall street journal The performer has reportedly filed eight trademark applications with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office featuring video and audio clips of him “looking, smiling, and talking.”
All eight applications were subsequently approved. And one of the clips submitted included him saying the iconic line from the 1993 film “Dazed and Confused,” “It’s okay, it’s okay, it’s okay.”
“My team and I want to know that when my voice or likeness is used, it’s because I authorized and signed on,” McConaughey told the newspaper in an email. “We want to create clear lines of ownership with consent and attribution in the world of AI.”
The goal is to pave the way for lawsuits should companies or individuals attempt to profit from an actor’s likeness with the help of AI.
“In a world where everyone is scrambling to figure out how to misuse AI, we now have the tools to stop someone or take them to federal court,” Jonathan Pollack, one of McConaughey’s lawyers, told the paper.
It remains to be seen whether this gamble will pay off. First, a number of copyright infringement lawsuits targeting AI companies are still playing out in court as we speak.
“We don’t know what the court will ultimately say,” said Kevin Yorn, a lawyer who also represents Mr. McConaughey. WSJ. “But we should at least test this.”
Other experts added that copyright laws become murky when it comes to AI-based video platforms like OpenAI’s Sora. The app, which allows users to generate photorealistic clips of famous characters and actors, was criticized by talent agencies last year, despite the company’s guardrails.
Sam Altman’s company appeared to have made a messaging error at the time, initially telling some talent agencies that the actors it represented needed to opt out of appearing on “SORA,” but changing its mind a few days later, causing chaos.
Federal rules governing whether, when and how actors’ likenesses and voices can be used are still being debated by lawmakers. But Hollywood unions are adamant that unauthorized AI cloning of actors should be illegal.
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