Italy’s Meloni follows pop stars in seeking to trademark her voice to combat AI deepfakes

ROME -- Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni has applied to trademark her voice with the European Union’s Intellectual Property Office, seeking to protect herself against AI-generated deepfakes.The application filed with the EU agency includes a four-second audio recording of Meloni repeating the phrase, in Italian, “Io sono Giorgia Meloni” (“I am Giorgia Meloni”), according to the EU office's records on Monday. The filing, first reported by Italian daily La Repubblica, was confirmed by an Italian official who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. Meloni’s move comes as governments, regulators and public figures grapple with the rapid spread of artificial intelligence tools capable of convincingly replicating voices and images.The recorded phrase echoes Meloni’s famous declaration at a 2019 political rally: “I am Giorgia, I am a woman, I am a mother, I am Italian, I am Christian.” The slogan became widely known in Italy and inspired a viral dance remix. “Io sono Giorgia” was also the title of her 2021 autobiography.Manipulated images of Meloni have repeatedly circulated online in recent years and have at times been passed off as authentic. Am...