What started as an experiment in digital creativity has turned into one of Hollywood’s most heated debates, and stars like Whoopi Goldberg are voicing concerns.
An artificial intelligence “actress” named Tilly Norwood is at the center of it all, after the creator behind the AI character reported multiple talent agents are interested in signing her.
Created by Dutch actor and comedian Eline Van der Velden, Tilly has her own Instagram page with thousands of followers. Tilly’s Instagram bio describes her as an actress out of London with “major delusions.”
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But to critics, the computer-generated character represents a much larger disruption that could reshape the future of acting.
Real performers including Melissa Barrera and Yvette Nicole Brown are pushing back, saying the AI performer undermines human talent.
Barrera wrote in an Instagram Story, “Hope all actors repped by the agent that does this, drop their a$$. How gross, read the room.”
While Brown pressed for transparency on Tilly’s Instagram page, writing: “Where is the AI label?! That should be on every single post.”
On The View, Goldberg warned audiences about the broader impact of AI performers.
“It’s got Bette Davis’ attitude, it’s got Humphrey Bogart’s lips, it’s got my humor,” she said. “It’s a little bit of an unfair advantage. We move differently, our faces move differently, our bodies move differently.”
She added that while the technology may become seamless in the future, it isn’t there yet. “Hopefully, we’ll be able to hold on because what this means is AI in the workplace — not just my workplace, but in every industry.”
Van der Velden, who recently launched Xicoia, the world’s first AI talent studio, defended the project on her Instagram page.
“Like many forms of art before her, she sparks conversation, and that in itself shows the power of creativity,” she said. “I see AI not as a replacement for people, but as a new tool.”
Still, the controversy has brought conversations that were at the center of the 2023 Hollywood strikes. At the time, actors demanded protections against studios using artificial intelligence to replicate performers without permission or pay.
AI has already made its way into Hollywood. In 2023, the technology was used to de-age Harrison Ford in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.
But the idea of an AI star signing with an agency is new territory and one many actors see as crossing the line.
SAG-AFTRA, which represents 160,000 actors and entertainment professionals, said it’s “opposed to the replacement of human performers by synthetics.”
“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 union said in a statement.
“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,” the statement continued. “It doesn’t solve any ‘problem’ — it creates the problem of using stolen performances to put actors out of work, jeopardizing performer livelihoods and devaluing human artistry.”
The union also warned producers about using AI performers.
“Signatory producers should be aware that they may not use synthetic performers without complying with our contractual obligations, which require notice and bargaining whenever a synthetic performer is going to be used,” the union said.
In response to the backlash, Tilly’s creators released a statement insisting “she is not a replacement for a human being, but a creative work.”
But with Hollywood studios looking for ways to save money, you never know.
Below is a post from Tilly’s Instagram account.
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