Hollywood is not rolling out the red carpet for Tilly Norwood – an AI actor that has been causing a stir after its Dutch creators said the synthetic performer is in talks with talent agencies.
Norwood could be mistaken for a young, aspiring actress when one glances at its social media. The brunette poses for photos and showcases a fully AI-generated comedy sketch, where it is described as having girl next door vibes.
I may be AI, but I'm feeling very real emotions right now, Tilly's creators wrote on her page. I am so excited for what's coming next!
Hollywood's powerful actors union has condemned the creation, along with A-list stars like Emily Blunt, Natasha Lyonne, and Whoopi Goldberg.
Norwood is not an actor, it's a character generated by a computer program that was trained on the work of countless professional performers, the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, or SAG-AFTRA, said in a statement.
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 union said.
The AI actor was created by Dutch actor and comedian Eline Van der Velden who reportedly said she wanted Norwood to become the next Scarlett Johansson. The BBC has reached out to Van der Velden and her company, Particle6.
Amid the anger and backlash in Hollywood, the Dutch creator posted on Tilly's Instagram page to say that the creation is not a replacement for a human being, but a creative work – a piece of art. Van der Velden wrote, adding such creations should be judged as part of their own genre rather than compared to human actors.
Creating Tilly has been, for me, an act of imagination and craftsmanship, not unlike drawing a character, writing a role or shaping a performance.
AI has been a hotly contested technology in Hollywood and was a key sticking point during labor strikes that shut down the industry two years ago as writers and actors demanded protections from the technology.
In its statement on Norwood, SAG-AFTRA reminded agencies and studios that using Norwood in projects could pose issues for contractual protections secured after the 2023 strike.
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, the union said.
Actress Natasha Lyonne noted that any talent agency engaging with Norwood should be boycotted, describing the approach as deeply misguided & totally disturbed.
The Oscar-nominated actress said, That's an AI? Good Lord, we're screwed. She urged agencies to stop replacing human connection.
On The View, Whoopi Goldberg expressed skepticism, noting that audiences can discern between human and synthetic performances. Though Norwood's Instagram was active for months, it gained notoriety after a recent summit where Van der Velden discussed her AI production studio and hinted at Hollywood's under-the-radar adoption of AI technologies.
As her creation garners attention, the future implications of AI in Hollywood remain uncertain, especially regarding its impact on traditional acting roles and the authenticity of performance art.
