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Associated Press

Reuters

Like thousands of actors, Tilly Norwood is looking for a Hollywood agent.
But unlike most young performers aspiring to make it in the film industry, Tilly Norwood is entirely the creation of artificial intelligence.
Norwood, dubbed Hollywood’s first “AI actor”, is the product of a company called Xicoia, which bills itself as the world’s first AI talent studio.
Since Dutch producer and comedian Eline Van der Velden launched the digital character’s prospective career, Tilly Norwood has been the talk of Hollywood. But not in a good way.

Guilds, actors and filmmakers have met the Xicoia product with an immediate wave of backlash, protesting that artificial intelligence should not have a starring role in the acting profession.
In a statement, SAG-AFTRA said that “creativity is, and should remain, human-centred”.
“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,” the guild said.
“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.”
Van der Velden, founder of the AI production studio Particle6, last weekend promoted Tilly Norwood at the Zurich Summit, the industry sidebar of the Zurich Film Festival.
The official launch consisted of a 20-second appearance of the photo-real character – a 20-something fictional ingénue bearing no particular resemblance to any real celebrity – in a brief video parody about making an AI-generated television show.












View this post on Instagram























A post shared by Tilly Norwood (@tillynorwood)



Van der Velden said then that talent agencies were circling Norwood and that she expected to announce a signing soon.
But many in Hollywood hope that never happens.
“Hope all actors repped by the agent that does this, drop their a$$,” wrote actress Melissa Barrera (In the Heights, Scream) on social media. “How gross, read the room.”
“Any talent agency that engages in this should be boycotted by all guilds,” wrote Natasha Lyonne on Instagram. The Russian Doll star is directing a feature titled Uncanny Valley that pledges to use “ethical” artificial intelligence in combination with traditional filmmaking techniques.
“Deeply misguided and totally disturbed,” she added. “Not the way. Not the vibe. Not the use.”
Artificial intelligence is often used as a tool in film production, though its implementation is hotly debated. It was a major bargaining point in the lengthy strike by SAG-AFTRA that concluded in late 2023, with some safeguards put in place to protect the use of actors’ likenesses and performances by AI.

A year-long strike by video game actors hinged on AI protections. In July, video game actors approved a new contract that mandates that employers obtain written permission to create a digital replica.
But there have been numerous controversies over the use of AI in acting. The Oscar-winning 2024 film The Brutalist used artificial intelligence for Hungarian dialogue spoken by Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones’ characters, the revelation of which prompted debate in the industry.
Computer-generated imagery is, indeed, nothing new to the film and television industry, and AI-enhanced software has more recently emerged in various effects such as “de-ageing” technology, allowing actors to portray younger versions of themselves.
The ability to convincingly replicate a feature-length human film performance with AI stand-ins is still seen as far off.
Van der Velden responded to the stir around Tilly Norwood on Instagram.
“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,” she said.
“Like many forms of art before her, she sparks conversation, and that in itself shows the power of creativity.
“Creating Tilly has been, for me, an act of imagination and craftsmanship, not unlike drawing a character, writing a role or shaping a performance,” she added. “It takes time, skill and iteration to bring such a character to life.”
That statement was also shared on Tilly Norwood’s Instagram account. Posts include photos of the creation drinking coffee, shopping for clothes and preparing for various projects.
“Had such a blast filming some screen tests recently,” one post reads. “Every day feels like a step closer to the big screen.”

Not everyone is convinced Tilly Norwood packs such potential. Yves Bergquist, director of AI in media at the University of Southern California’s Entertainment Technology Centre, called the hoopla “nonsense”.
“There is a lot of very understandable nervousness and fear out there about talent being replaced,” he said. But judging from his own daily interactions with Hollywood executives, Bergquist said there was zero interest from “serious people” in developing entirely synthetic characters.
“Scarlett Johansson has a fan base. Scarlett Johansson is a person,” he said.
Additional reporting by Reuters


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The 20-something fictional character has drawn fire from actors, while SAG-AFTRA says creativity should remain ‘human-centred’


The 20-something fictional character has drawn fire from actors, while SAG-AFTRA says creativity should remain ‘human-centred’.


‘How gross’: Hollywood fumes as the first ‘AI actor’, Tilly Norwood, is introduced

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The 20-something fictional character has drawn fire from actors, while SAG-AFTRA says creativity should remain ‘human-centred’

The 20-something fictional character has drawn fire from actors, while SAG-AFTRA says creativity should remain ‘human-centred’