Hollywood finds itself embroiled in a fresh controversy, not over a new star, but a synthetic entity: Tilly Norwood, an "AI actor." Her Dutch creators' announcement that she's negotiating with talent agencies has ignited a significant industry debate.
On social media, Tilly presents as a vibrant, aspiring brunette actress, complete with professional-looking headshots and an AI-generated comedy sketch touting her "girl next door" appeal. Her page even features a post stating, "I may be AI, but I'm feeling very real emotions right now. I am so excited for what's coming next!" — a sentiment ironically penned by her human creators.
This digital persona has drawn swift and powerful condemnation from the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), Hollywood's influential actors' union, alongside a roster of A-list talent including Emily Blunt, Natasha Lyonne, and Whoopi Goldberg. SAG-AFTRA issued a strong statement, asserting that Tilly Norwood is "not an actor," but rather "a character generated by a computer program that was trained on the work of countless professional performers." The union emphasized that such creations "have no life experience to draw from, no emotion," and that "audiences aren't interested in watching computer-generated content untethered from the human experience."
Tilly's architect is Dutch actor and comedian Eline Van der Velden, who reportedly envisions Norwood becoming "the next Scarlett Johansson." Her company, Particle6, has crafted Tilly's online presence to include fabricated filming tests and clever spoofs of BBC programs, even digitally placing her on the iconic couch of The Graham Norton Show.
Responding to the escalating industry outrage, Van der Velden took to Tilly's Instagram to defend her creation, clarifying that it's "not a replacement for a human being, but a creative work – a piece of art." She elaborated that "creating Tilly has been, for me, an an act of imagination and craftmanship, not unlike drawing a character, writing a role or shaping a performance," advocating for AI creations to be evaluated "as part of their own genre" rather than against human performance standards.
This dispute underscores AI's contentious role in Hollywood, a technology that was a primary point of contention during the labor strikes that paralyzed the industry two years prior. Writers and actors had then demanded robust protections against its unchecked use. SAG-AFTRA's statement on Tilly also served as a stern reminder to agencies and studios: engaging Norwood in projects could jeopardize the crucial contractual safeguards for human performers established after the 2023 strike. The union further asserted, "It doesn't solve any 'problem' — it creates the problem of using stolen performances to put actors out of work, jeopardizing performer livelihoods and devaluing human artistry."
Prominent voices from the acting community have weighed in. Natasha Lyonne, acclaimed for "Poker Face" and "Orange Is the New Black," declared that any talent agency collaborating with Norwood should face a boycott from all guilds, labeling the concept "deeply misguided & totally disturbed," despite her own involvement with "ethical AI" for a film featuring human actors. Oscar-nominated Emily Blunt, on a Variety podcast, conveyed pure dread upon seeing Tilly, exclaiming, "That's an AI? Good Lord, we're screwed." She pleaded with agencies to "Please stop taking away our human connection," calling it "really, really scary."
Meanwhile, on "The View," veteran actress and comedian Whoopi Goldberg offered a more nuanced perspective. While acknowledging potential issues, she expressed skepticism about AI creations fully displacing human actors, arguing that audiences can discern the fundamental differences in how humans "move differently, our faces move differently, our bodies move differently" compared to synthetic performers.
Despite Tilly's social media presence spanning several months, her profile skyrocketed in Hollywood this week following a Deadline report on a summit in Zurich. There, creator Eline Van der Velden presented her AI production studio and her new AI talent agency, Xicoia. She provocatively suggested that major Hollywood studios and agencies are already discreetly adopting AI, advising the audience to anticipate public announcements regarding high-profile projects utilizing the technology in the near future. This sets the stage for what promises to be an ongoing battle between technological innovation and traditional human artistry in the entertainment capital of the world.
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Originally published at: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c99glvn5870o
