AI Actress Tilly Norwood Raises Concerns Surrounding AI in Film
During the Zurich Film Festival, a part of a summit in Switzerland, an Artificial Intelligence (AI) subdivision (Xicoia) of the production company Particle 6 revealed their newest innovation: Tilly Norwood, a fully AI actress. Eline Van De Velden, founder of Particle 6, stated that she wants this new AI innovation to be the “Next Scarlett Johansson or Natalie Portman, that’s the aim of what we’re doing.” This comes just a few years after the actor strikes in Hollywood, where a major argument was made against the usage of AI in film and television, with many citing how it strips away opportunities from hard-working creatives and defeats the purpose of the medium.
Tilly Norwood is not something that comes from a simple command though, as the creation involves many dynamic elements of AI resources. These include ChatGPT (for the scripts/dialogue), Veo3 (Character, voice, and video generations), Seedance (image to video generations), and many others. While some like Van De Velden see no issue with connecting to an AI creation, many online have suggested that this will create vast emotional distance and a disconnect between the viewer’s emotions and the media they are consuming.
One group of people who seem extremely pro-Tilly are those involved in talent agencies and studios, fully embracing the idea of an actress who has no schedule, no emotional baggage, and no reason to want to stand up to those overworking her. Xicoia has also been introduced as an agency looking to create and monetize AI talents for future use, so Tilly already seems to have a deal lined up for it to start starring in productions. While this may scare many, it is worth noting that the words of the few in Hollywood’s AI bubble do not outweigh the strong words of the many opposing this bizarre creation.
Good job Ronan!