Hollywood in Outrage Following Talent Agency’s Push For AI “Actress” Tilly Norwood
Image Courtesy of TechRadar
By Luis Zonenberg
From people doomscrolling online to using ChatGPT at school, it’s clear that this modern age has brought its own set of challenges for the newest generation. What is even more concerning in this push forward in technology is how it can be manipulated to replace everyday workers. This was one of many factors why SAG-AFTRA went on strike in 2023, pushing for security against AI in the workforce.
It seems the union has need for concern yet again as news broke out over the weekend that talent agents are hoping to sign AI-generated “actress” Tilly Norwood for representation. Her creator, Van de Valden, was the first to report on this, sparking an outrage across Hollywood. Many media outlets have already reported on the ensuing chaos that Norwood has sparked, drawing attention from many celebrities in the filmmaking community.
SAG-AFTRA was quick to respond on the matter, condemning the mere thought of having Norwood appear in any form of mainstream media. The organization “believes creativity is, and should remain, human-centered. The union is opposed to the replacement of human performers by synthetics.”
They expanded on this, clarifying that Norwood is nothing more than “a character generated by a computer program, trained on the work of countless professional performers, without permission or compensation. It has no life or 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.”
Other performers, such as Simiu Liu, were also quick to comment on this subject. Liu jokingly remarked on his Instagram story, “Movies are great, but you know what would be better is if the characters weren’t played by actual humans but by AI replicas approximating human emotion.”
It seems that the fictional dystopian future from The Terminator is growing closer to becoming a reality as AI becomes more prominent and dangerous when used incorrectly. Matters like this show why AI is a dangerous tool; it can be used to replicate human actions and in turn, cause more people to lose their jobs. This was why the union went on strike back in 2023, to ensure actors would be protected from having their jobs stolen by a mere algorithm.
Actors and other celebrities have certain unalienable rights that should not be ignored. This is what the situation with Tilly Norwood teeters on, which is violating their consent or permission to let their likeness or talents be used to educate such a program. Norwood was programmed to survey and study the talents of numerous performers, without going through the proper guidelines and giving them their due credit. In fact, this program is more so robbing them of their talents and their human rights.
SAG-AFTRA said it best, describing how this movement “creates the problem of using stolen performances to put actors out of work, jeopardizing performer livelihoods and devaluing human artistry.”
The issue with AI will only grow more complicated from here on out, as the systems will only get more advanced with each passing day. That is not to say that AI will not have its uses, but like any tool it can be used the wrong way.This is what the situation with Tilly Norwood clearly proves. Only time will tell if this bold move will amount to anything of real change, let alone prompt more action from the SAG-AFTRA union.
