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A burgeoning controversy is gripping Hollywood as news breaks of a virtual “AI actress” named Tilly Norwood attracting significant interest from established talent agencies. This development has ignited a passionate backlash from prominent human actors, who are questioning the ethical implications and potential displacement of living performers in the entertainment industry.
Tilly Norwood is an entirely digital creation, conceived by Xicoia, a talent studio affiliated with the AI production company Particle6. Following a report by Deadline detailing interest from several Hollywood talent agents in representing Norwood, the industry’s human contingent erupted in protest.
Hollywood’s Human Response to Virtual Talent
The outrage was palpable across social media. Melissa Barrera, known for her role in In the Heights, took to Instagram Stories with a stark condemnation, urging actors to sever ties with any agent pursuing such representation. “Hope all actors repped by the agent that does this, drop their a$$. How gross, read the room,” she wrote.
Mara Wilson, star of Matilda, poignantly questioned the ethical implications, asking, “And what about the hundreds of living young women whose faces were composited together to make her? You couldn’t hire any of them?” Her comment underscored the fear of job displacement and the unacknowledged labor that might contribute to AI creations.
Nicholas Alexander Chavez, who portrayed Lyle Menendez in Netflix’s Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, asserted, “Not an actress actually nice try,” reinforcing the sentiment that AI cannot truly embody the craft. Other industry figures chimed in with a mix of humor and blunt disapproval. Lukas Gage of The White Lotus quipped, “She was a nightmare to work with!!!!” while Pretty Little Liars star Lucy Hale delivered a concise, “No.”
The Creator’s Vision: A Rapid Shift in Industry Perception
Despite the current outcry, Particle6 founder Eline Van der Velden expressed confidence in Norwood’s future, anticipating an announcement regarding her agency representation in the coming months. Van der Velden highlighted a rapid shift in industry perception regarding AI talent.
“We were in a lot of boardrooms around February time, and everyone was like, ‘No, this is nothing. It’s not going to happen’,” Van der Velden noted in the original Deadline report. “Then, by May, people were like, ‘We need to do something with you guys.’ When we first launched Tilly, people were like, ‘What’s that?’, and now we’re going to be announcing which agency is going to be representing her in the next few months.” This indicates a quick evolution in Hollywood’s embrace, or at least consideration, of AI technology.
A Shadow of Strikes Past: AI Concerns and SAG-AFTRA
This controversy arrives against a backdrop of deep-seated concerns over AI’s increasing role in filmmaking, a major sticking point during the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. The union, representing 160,000 television and movie actors, highlighted AI’s potential to diminish human roles and intellectual property rights.
Over the last decade, AI has permeated various facets of the movie and television industry, from de-aging actors and analyzing viewer patterns to resurrecting the voices of deceased performers and even stitching together entire movie trailers. However, the proposed “groundbreaking AI” use that concerned SAG-AFTRA during the strike involved scanning background performers for a single day’s pay, allowing studios to own and indefinitely use these scans across any future project.
Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG-AFTRA’s national executive director and chief negotiator, strongly opposed this, stating, “If you think that’s a groundbreaking proposal, I suggest you think again.” The current debate around Tilly Norwood brings these foundational anxieties back to the forefront, posing critical questions about the future of human creativity and employment in an increasingly automated Hollywood.