Additional Coverage:
- Tilly Norwood, fully AI ‘actor,’ blasted by actors union SAG-AFTRA for ‘devaluing human artistry’ (nbcnews.com)
Hollywood Union Slams AI ‘Actor,’ Calls It Threat to Human Artistry
Hollywood’s leading actors’ union, the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), has strongly condemned reports that talent agents are seeking to represent “Tilly Norwood,” an AI-generated character. The union asserts that Tilly Norwood is not an actor but a computer program, a creation it views as a direct threat to the livelihoods and artistic integrity of human performers.
In a statement released Tuesday, SAG-AFTRA declared, “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.” The union emphasized that the AI lacks “life experience to draw from, no emotion,” and suggested audiences have little interest in computer-generated content detached from the human experience.
The union did not mince words, blasting the AI creation for “using stolen performances to put actors out of work, jeopardizing performer livelihoods and devaluing human artistry.” Furthermore, SAG-AFTRA issued a warning to Hollywood producers, stating they “should be aware that they may not use synthetic performers without complying with our contractual obligations, which generally require notice and bargaining whenever a synthetic performer is going to be used.”
Tilly Norwood was developed by Particle6 Productions, led by comedian and writer Eline Van der Velden. Van der Velden’s announcement at the Zurich Film Festival that several talent agencies were interested in casting the AI creation in various projects ignited a wave of outrage across Hollywood.
Prominent actors, including Emily Blunt, Lukas Gage, Melissa Barrera, and Kiersey Clemons, have publicly criticized the AI. EGOT winner Whoopi Goldberg also weighed in on “The View,” acknowledging it as “a little bit of an unfair advantage” but confidently adding, “Bring it on… Because you can always tell them from us.”
Responding to the criticism, Van der Velden defended her work in an Instagram statement, viewing “AI not as a replacement for people, but as a tool — a new paintbrush.” She argued that “AI characters should be judged as part of their own genre, on their own merits, rather than compared directly with human actors,” believing each art form holds its unique value. Particle6 did not immediately comment on the union’s latest statement.
The debate over AI in entertainment is not new. Following a historic strike in 2023, SAG-AFTRA and major Hollywood studios forged a landmark deal that includes biannual meetings to ensure compliance with federal regulations concerning AI’s evolving role in the industry.
The discussion around Tilly Norwood also extended to “The Grill,” an entertainment conference in Los Angeles. During a panel focused on AI in media, Yves Bergquist, director of AI in media at USC’s Entertainment Technology Center, dismissed the notion of a digital actor as “nonsense.”
Comparing it to the lack of major AI artists in the music industry despite years of possibility, Bergquist called it “a gimmick.” While he conceded that digital characters might appear in films, he firmly stated, “Are there actually going to be talent that’s digital? …
No, and boo.”