The production studio of Tilly Norwood, the digital character dubbed Hollywood's first “AI actor,” plans to join forces with the History Channel in the Netherlands to create a time-travel series based on artificial intelligence, the companies announced Monday.
In the 10-part series Streets of the Past, Dutch writer and media personality Corjan Mol explores the Netherlands' famous streets and squares “with the help of artificial intelligence.”
“The AI will help Maul go back in time and join the action in a cameo role,” the companies said in a press release. “Each immersive historical scene will be created by artificial intelligence using archival materials such as paintings, prints or photographs to ensure accuracy.”
The series will be produced by British company Particle6. Particle6 is best known for developing Tilly Norwood, a synthetic character who caused heated controversy in the traditional entertainment industry.
For example, in a September statement that made national news, the Screen Actors Guild condemned reports that Hollywood talent agencies were exploring whether to sign Tilly Norwood as a client.
“To be clear, 'Tilly Norwood' is not an actor, but a character created by a computer program trained from the work of countless professional performers – without permission or compensation,” the guild said.
“He has no life experience, no emotions, and from what we have seen, viewers are not interested in viewing computer-generated content that is not related to the human experience,” the guild added.
Dutch comedian and writer Elin van der Velden, founder of Particle6, rejected the criticism at the time. In a statement on Instagram, Van der Velden said she sees “AI not as a replacement for people, but as a tool – a new brush.”
“AI characters should be judged as part of their own genre, on their own merits, rather than directly compared to human actors,” Van der Velden wrote. “Every art form has its place, and each can be appreciated for its uniqueness.”
Sam Pearson, head of short-form input at Hearst Networks, said Monday that the History Channel will be “transparent” about how AI is used in time-travel series.
“We will continue to explore [AI's] potential with ethical partners like Particle6, using it thoughtfully, with clear boundaries and principles, while always ensuring and sharing transparency for our audience when they watch AI-generated content,” Pearson said.
