The Hollywood Nightmare. An Actress Created by AI Scared Movie Stars 0 19

If you look at the photos of Tilly Norwood posted on her social media, you might think she is an ordinary young actress. But in reality, her images in various settings and comedic sketches are entirely generated by artificial intelligence. Her creators describe this brunette as "the girl who resembles your neighbor."

"Although I was created by AI, my current feelings are very real," the creators of Tilly write on her behalf. "I just can't wait to see what comes next!"

They add that they are already negotiating the participation of the AI actress in film and television projects with talent agencies.

As examples of the "roles" Tilly can play, the authors show images of her "screen tests" in computer-generated settings and "place" her on the star couch of the popular Graham Norton Show, which airs on BBC.

Behind Tilly's creation is Dutch actress and comedian Eline van der Velden and her company Particle6. According to reports, she wants Norwood to eventually become "the second Scarlett Johansson."

Tilly Norwood was met with hostility in Hollywood. The Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) issued a special statement regarding this.

"[Norwood] is not an actress, but a character created by a computer program trained on the works of many professional performers," it states. "She has no life experience to draw upon in her work. She has no emotions. And, based on our observations, the audience is not interested in content generated by a computer without human involvement."

Recently, the American entertainment industry has been particularly concerned about the development of artificial intelligence, including the fact that computer algorithms are trained based on the works of real actors, directors, and artists.

Two years ago, a strike took place in Hollywood, resulting in television and film company owners promising to protect professionals from the threat posed by AI. In its statement, SAG-AFTRA emphasized that the use of Tilly Norwood could violate the agreements reached at that time.

The union's statement said that Norwood's appearance does not solve any problems but rather creates new ones—"taking jobs away from actors, threatening the well-being of performers, and devaluing human achievements in the arts."

What Actors Are Saying

Hollywood stars are speaking out even more harshly on this issue.

Actress Natasha Lyonne, known for her roles in "American Pie" and the series "Orange Is the New Black," "Russian Doll," and "Poker Face," called for a boycott of anyone who agrees to collaborate with Tilly Norwood.

"If any talent agency engages in this, all professional associations should declare a boycott against them," Lyonne stated. She is currently involved in the production of a feature film using artificial intelligence but considers this project ethical because it features real actors.

Another popular actress, Emily Blunt, admitted in a Variety podcast that the emergence of the AI actress scared her a lot.

"What, is this really AI? Oh my God, we are all doomed then," she said when shown one of Tilly Norwood's videos. "This is really, really scary. Dear talent agencies, please don't do this! Please stop! Don't take away our human relationships."

But one of Hollywood's biggest stars, Whoopi Goldberg, said on the television program The View that viewers will always be able to distinguish real actors from those generated by a computer. She does not share the concerns that AI creations will take jobs from people because real actors "move differently, we have different facial expressions, different body movements."

How Tilly Norwood's Creator Is Responding

Amid the scandal sparked by Tilly Norwood, her Dutch creator posted a message on Instagram. She stated that her project "should not replace people, it is a work of art."

"In creating Tilly, I used my imagination and technical skill. It is similar to what an animator, screenwriter, or someone preparing a role does," Eline van der Velden wrote.

She added that such works should be evaluated "within their own genre," rather than compared to the works of humans.

Tilly Norwood's Instagram account has been active for several months, but it has been discussed particularly actively this week after Deadline published a report on a specialized conference featuring van der Velden held in Zurich.

As Deadline reported, last Saturday, the Dutch actress and comedian spoke about her AI production studio and the agency she created for AI actors called Xicoia.

Van der Velden also stated that Hollywood studios and talent agencies are quietly working in the field of AI and promised that major projects using it would be announced in the coming months.