Happy Mondays icon Shaun Ryder takes drastic steps to stop himself being cloned by AI

Happy Mondays legend Shaun Ryder doesn’t fancy being cloned by AI technology so is following in the footsteps of Hollywood icon Matthew McConaughey, who trademarked his image and voice

Happy Mondays rocker Shaun Ryder is going to copyright himself to avoid being replicated by AI. The 63-year-old singer is paranoid that his voice and likeness will be stolen and turned in to a Shaun Ryder avatar.

So, the former I’m A Celebrity star is going to follow in the footsteps of Matthew McConaughey who trademarked his image and voice to protect them from unauthorised use by artificial intelligence platforms.

Shaun said: “Somebody has just recently copyrighted themself, I think I might copyright myself. Copyright my character, my voice, everything.

“I think that’s what actors are going to have to start doing. That’s what they’re going to have to start to do.

“They could do anything with me, put me in a film. Not that anyone would f***ing want to do much AI with my stuff!”

McConaughey registered clips, including his famous catchphrase “alright, alright, alright” line from the 1993 film Dazed and Confused, to the United States Patent and Trademark Office database.

Lawyers for the Magic Mike star hope the trademarks could be used broadly against any unauthorised copies of him.

It is the first time an actor has attempted to use trademark law to protect their likeness from AI misuse.

Ryder – who is heading out on tour in March with the Happy Mondays to celebrate the 35th anniversary of their classic album Pills ‘n’ Thrills And Bellyaches – says it is scary what can now be created with AI, and you no longer know what to believe when you watch videos or listen to music.

He said: “You look at all these videos now, f***ing hell, what you can do with AI, you can basically make a f***ing Hollywood production movie on your f***ing phone now.”