European production company Particle6 introduced its first AI actress, Tilly Norwood, over the weekend, sparking backlash from stars and agencies alike.
Tilly Norwood was created by the AI division of Particle6, Xicoia.
On her Instagram profile, the newly-created star describes herself as an “aspiring actress”, while her bio reads: “You’ll either get it or pretend you don’t. I’m a creation #aiart”.
The page features a variety of photos depicting the actress posing for the camera, enjoying a cup of coffee in a cafe, or walking down the street.
Particle6’s creator, Dutch comedian and writer Eline Van der Velden, stated that she was aiming to turn Norwood into “the next Scarlett Johansson or Natalie Portman.”
‘Totally disturbed’
Hollywood’s reaction to the introduction of the new star has been cold, to say the least.
“Any talent agency that engages in this should be boycotted by all guilds,” raged ‘Russian Doll’ actress and producer Natasha Lyonne.
“It’s deeply misguided and totally disturbed.”
Speaking to Variety, British actress Emily Blunt said: “That is really, really scary.”
“Come on, agencies, don’t do that. Please stop. Please stop taking away our human connection,” she remarked.
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Van der Velden defended her creation in an Instagram post on Monday.
“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 wrote.
“I also believe AI characters should be judged as part of their own genre, on their own merits, rather than compared directly with human actors.”
“Each form of art has its place, and each can be valued for what it uniquely brings,” she concluded.
‘Not an actor’
The Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) doubled down on the topic by releasing a fiery statement: “To be clear, ‘Tilly Norwood’ is not an actor. […] It has no life experience to draw from, no emotion,” it stated.
“It doesn’t solve any ‘problem’ – it creates the problem of using stolen performances to put actors out of work, jeopardising performer livelihoods and devaluing human artistry.”
The stunt also got the web’s attention, with millions of users commenting on the news on social media.
“She does not exist, she is NOT an actress. This is just stolen data baked into the image of a woman, by a software,” a Reddit user wrote.
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