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An AI “actress” named Tilly Norwood is reportedly drawing interest from several talent agents, making some people in Hollywood very upset. Seriously, this is a thing that is actually happening.
Eline Van der Velden, Norwood’s creator, made this claim at a Zurich Film Festival industry event on Saturday while discussing her AI production studio Particle6 and her AI talent studio Xicoia.
Tilly Norwood will be signed by an agency “in the coming months,” she revealed, according to Deadline.
“We were in a lot of boardrooms around February time, and everyone was like, ‘No, this is nothing. It’s not going to happen.’ Then, by May, people were like, ‘We need to do something with you guys,’” she said. “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.”
As one might expect, this news was not well-met by many in Hollywood. Actors Toni Collette, Melissa Barrera, Kiersey Clemons and Mara Wilson were among those who expressed concern and/or anger over the possibility of an AI actor taking roles away from actual humans.
“Hope all actors repped by the agent that does this, drop their a$$. How gross, read the room,” Barrera wrote.
“And what about the hundreds of living young women whose faces were composited together to make her? You couldn’t hire any of them?” Wilson commented.
Eline Van der Velden heard those complaints and responded on Tilly Norwood’s Instagram page with a message.
“To those who have expressed anger over the creation of my AI character, Tilly Norwood, she is not a replacement for a human being, but a creative work — a piece of art. Like many forms of art before her, she sparks conversation, and that in itself shows the power of creativity,” Van der Velden wrote in the statement.
“I see AI not as a replacement for people, but as a new tool, a new paintbrush. Just as animation, puppetry, or CGI opened fresh possibilities without taking away from live acting, AI offers another way to imagine and build stories,” she continued. “I’m an actor myself, and nothing — certainly not an AI character — can take away the craft or joy of human performance.”
“New stills from my latest work as an AI actress,” reads the caption on Tilly Norwood’s latest Instagram post. “Acting in this space feels like stepping into the future, and I can’t wait to share more. Which shot is your favourite — 1, 2, 3 or 4?” She also added the hashtags #AIActress #OnSet #NewWork #FutureOfFilm #ActorLife #BehindTheScenes.
This news about AI “actress” Tilly Norwood comes on the heels of the virtual avatars of a K-pop boy band Plave winning a lawsuit that claimed that they were defamed on social media. Plave’s agency (proving AI performers can have agents) filed the defamation lawsuit because the comments on social media caused them emotional distress.