AI actor Tilly Norwood sparks outrage: What's the controversy?
What's the story
Hollywood is currently abuzz with the controversy surrounding Tilly Norwood, an artificial intelligence (AI)-generated actor. The creator of the AI actor, Eline Van Der Velden, has sparked immediate backlash from celebrities including Emily Blunt, Sophie Turner, and Whoopi Goldberg. The uproar began after Van Der Velden revealed that her company Particle6 was in talks with agents interested in signing Norwood.
Social media presence
Norwood's Instagram account and posts
Norwood's Instagram account, which started posting images on May 6, currently boasts over 36,000 followers. The account has shared videos such as "my first ever role" in a clip titled AI Commissioner back in July. The entirely AI-generated video showcases Norwood alongside other "synthetic" actors, highlighting the purported benefits of using AI in television production.
Celebrity backlash
Blunt, SAG-AFTRA's response to Norwood
Blunt expressed her fear of Norwood's existence to Variety, saying it was "really scary." When shown an AI-generated image of Norwood, she said, "No, are you serious? That's an AI? Good Lord, we're screwed. That is really, really scary." The SAG-AFTRA union 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."
Further reactions
Van Der Velden defends Norwood
Goldberg also commented on the controversy, stating that the issue with Norwood is that it was created using attributes from 5,000 different actors. "It's got Bette Davis's attitude; it's got my humor; and so it's a little bit of an unfair advantage," she said. Meanwhile, Van Der Velden defended her creation, saying Norwood is not a replacement for a human being but a creative work, a piece of art.