Scary. Terrible. Deeply mistaken.
That was one of the most visceral reactions this week from Emily Blunt, Whoopi Goldberg, Natasha Lyonne and many other actors and directors to Tilly Norwood's sudden fame.
Norwood is not real – the brunette who appears in a comedy sketch on her Instagram page is actually a computer generated composition.
“I may be an artificial intelligence, but I am experiencing very real emotions right now,” reads a post on Norwood’s Instagram page. “I’m so excited about what’s next!”
This view is not widely accepted, at least not in Hollywood, where concerns about the use and abuse of artificial intelligence replacing actors run deep.
Norwood's creator caused a stir after she announced that the digital actor would soon sign with a talent agency.
SAG-AFTRA issued a scathing response this week, dismissing Norwood as “a character created by a computer program trained from the work of countless professional performers.”
Two years ago, union members held 118-day strike fight for additional AI protections in their contracts with major studios.
“They are taking the work of our professional members that has been in the making, sometimes for generations, without permission, without compensation and without recognition, and creating something new,” SAG-AFTRA President Sean Astin said in an interview.
“But the truth is, he's not new. He's manipulating something that already exists, so the conceit that he's not hurting the actors – because it's his own new thing – ignores the fundamental truth that he's taking something that doesn't belong to them,” Astin said.
Astin said he would welcome a conversation with the company behind Tilly Norwood.
“We want to allow our members to take advantage of new technologies,” Astin said. “They just need to know it's happening. They need to give permission for it, and they need to bargain with them.”
Norwood was created by AI through Xicoia, a London-based AI talent studio founded by Dutch actress Elin Van der Velden. According to Deadline, Xicoia works with estates and Hollywood stars who want a younger look on screen. first reported Talent agency interest in Norwood.
Van der Velden, who is also the founder of artificial intelligence company Particle6, was unavailable for comment on Wednesday. But in a statement posted on Instagram following the backlash, Van der Velden stressed that Norwood is “a creative work, a work of art.”
“I don’t see AI as a replacement for people, but as a new tool—a new brush,” Van der Velden said. “Just as animation, puppetry, and computer graphics have opened up new possibilities without taking away from live acting, AI offers a different way to imagine and create stories.”
Norwood has 44,000 followers on Instagram and is portrayed as an aspiring young actor from London who loves shopping and iced coffee.
The social media page shows Norwood in various scenes. In one, she is armed and ready to fight the monster; in another, she runs away from a collapsing building in a futuristic city.
At an industry panel in Zurich on Saturday, Van der Velden touted her creation.
“You know, when we first launched Tilly, people said, 'It's not going to happen,'” Van der Velden said. “And now we're going to announce which agency will represent her in the next few months. Things are changing, and thankfully everyone is starting to see the light.”
Talent agencies represent digital characters used in advertising campaigns. And seeing such avatars in the mainstream is becoming increasingly common – in 2024, a Japanese digital character Hatsune Miku performed at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and presented an artificial intelligence model was shown in the August issue of Vogue magazine for the Los Angeles brand Guess.
And some studios, including Lionsgate, are partnering with artificial intelligence startups to explore the use of the technology in areas such as storyboard. Others, such as Netflix and Amazon MGM Studios, row that use AI in visual effects.
Technology companies argue that they must be able to train their AI models on content available on the Internet and provide relevant information within the “fair usea doctrine that allows limited reproduction of content without the permission of the copyright holder.
But the spread of AI also has fueled fears that artificial intelligence companies use copyrighted material to train their models without compensation or permission. Earlier this year, Disney, Universal and Warner Bros. Discovery sued artificial intelligence companies regarding copyright infringement.
Some actors have called for a boycott of any agents who choose to represent Norwood. “Read the Room, What an Abomination,” “In the Heights” Actress Melissa Barrera wrote on Instagram.
“Our members reserve the right not to do business with representatives who operate under unfair conflicts of interest and who act in bad faith,” Astin said.
