She’s young, she’s starry-eyed, and she wants a career in acting. The only problem? She’s not real.
Tilly Norwood, a new AI “actress” created by artificial intelligence production studio Particle6, is making waves in the entertainment industry.
Norwood, a creation of Particle6 founder Eline Van Der Velden, has been racking up followers on Instagram, where, to the untrained eye, the AI bot might pass as a normal young actress hoping to make it in the biz. There, Norwood posts “screen tests” and “stills” from its “latest work.” One video, posted July 30, boasts its “first ever role,” in “AI Comissioner,” a comedy sketch from Particle6 that was entirely AI-generated.
SAG-AFTRA is worried about AI, but can it really replace actors? It already has.
With AI among the largest flashpoints in Hollywood today, Norwood had little hope of flying under the radar. In a statement posted to Instagram, SAG-AFTRA, one of the largest entertainment unions, blasted its creation, characterizing it as an affront to the work of human performers.
“SAG-AFTRA believes creativity is, and should remain, human-centered. The union is opposed to the replacement of human performers by synthetics,” the statement reads. “To be clear, ‘Tilly Norwood’ is not an actor, it’s a character generated by a computer program that was trained on the work of countless professional performers — without permission or compensation.”
“It has no life experience to draw from, no emotion and, from what we’ve seen, audiences aren’t interested in watching computer-generated content untethered from the human experience,” the statement continued. “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.”
Emily Blunt, Whoopi Goldberg join SAG-AFTRA in criticizing ‘AI actor’ Tilly Norwood
Several stars also signaled concern, with Emily Blunt saying on Variety’s Awards Circuit podcast: “Good Lord, we’re screwed. That is really, really scary, Come on, agencies, don’t do that. Please stop. Please stop taking away our human connection.”
“The View” host Whoopi Goldberg also signaled displeasure, saying on the talk show: “The problem with this, in my humble opinion, is that you are suddenly up against something that’s been generated with 5,000 other actors… You know what? Bring it on. You can always tell them from us. We move differently, our faces move differently, our bodies move differently.”
The use of AI was among the major negotiation points at the center of a multi-month strike in 2023, which ground Hollywood to a stop as several trade unions demanded better residual payments for streaming and regulation of artificial intelligence.
The SAG statement concluded: “Additionally, signatory producers should be aware that they may not use synthetic performers without complying with our contractual obligations, which require notice and bargaining whenever a synthetic performer is going to be used.”
Adrien Brody addresses ‘Brutalist’ AI controversy, jokes about prosthetic nose
Tilly Norwood creator compares AI-generated actor to animation, CGI
In response to SAG-AFTRA’s concerns, Van Der Velden posted her own statement on Instagram, arguing that Norwood was “a creative work.”
“To those who have expressed anger over the creation of our AI character Tilly Norwood: she is not a replacement for a human being, but a creative work — a piece of art,” Van Der Velden wrote. “Like many forms of art before her, she sparks conversation, and that in itself shows the power of creativity.
“I see AI not as a replacement for people, but as a new tool − a new paintbrush,” she continued. “Just as animation, puppetry, or CGI opened fresh possibilities without taking away from live acting, AI offers another way to imagine and build stories. I’m an actor myself and nothing − certainly not an AI character − can take away the craft or joy of human performance.
A WGA sign reads “Humanity vs. AI” as striking members picket outside Warner Bros. Studio on Aug. 16, 2023, in Burbank, California.
“She represents experimentation, not substitution,” Van Der Veldnen continued, after describing the creation of Norwood as an act that took time, skill and imagination. “Much of my work has always been about holding up a mirror to society through satire, and this is not different.”
Van Der Veldnen argued “AI characters should be judged as part of their own genre, on their own merits, rather than compared directly with human actors,” and that “each form of art has its place, and each can be valued for what it uniquely brings.”
As the prominence of artificial intelligence grows in the everyday life of Americans, it remains to be seen how welcome viewers will be to the idea of it on the big screen, but the robot revolution, which Hollywood’s sci-fi films imagined in many ways, is now knocking on its door. The environmental impact of the technology, research suggests, is also staggering, with a single genAI prompt estimated to use about 3 watt-hours (Wh) of electricity.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tilly Norwood, ‘AI actor,’ causing Hollywood firestorm
