Hollywood’s AI actress, Tilly Norwood, sparks fierce debate amid job concerns

Hollywood stars have expressed concerns over the unveiling of an AI actress.

This week, during the Zurich Film Festival, Eline Van der Velden, an actor, comedian, and producer, unveiled and discussed Tilly Norwood, an AI actress, and this instantly divided Hollywood.

Tilly is the first AI actress from Eline’s newly launched AI talent studio, Xicoia, a spin-off from Particle6.

Within hours of this announcement, Tilly dominated headlines as the “world’s first AI actress,” creating an instant debate, while drawing curiosity from talent agencies and condemnation from many working actors.

Elin insists that the goal is not to replace people, but to provide a new tool for cinema and television.

“As for those who expressed anger over the creation of our character Tilly Norwood: she is not a replacement for a person, but a creative work,” Elaine van der Velden wrote.

“She is a creation, a piece of art,” Van der Velden said. “AI is not a substitute for human craft, but a new paintbrush — like animation, puppetry, or CGI.”

Erin’s statement did little to reassure the public and many in Hollywood have gone online to express concerns that artificial intelligence could take jobs and eventually push actors out of the frame.

Others expressed concerns that real people’s work could be used to train AI models without consent or compensation and could be used to create films, series, or advertisements without people’s involvement.

“You did not create this. Hundreds of real workers, real photographers, camera operators, even farmers – they did this. You took their work and pretended it was yours,” actress Mara Wilson, known for films such as “Matilda” and “Mrs. Doubtfire”, replied to Erin.

Asked about Tilly Norwood during an interview, Emily Blunt said: “Does it disappoint me? I don’t know how to quite answer it, other than to say how terrifying this is.”

Blunt was then shown an image of Norwood and she exclaimed, “No, are you serious? That’s an AI? Good Lord, we’re screwed. That is really, really scary, Come on, agencies, don’t do that. Please stop. Please stop taking away our human connection.”

According to industry sources, talent agencies are considering signing Tilly as an actress, while studios are not rushing to abandon the use of AI-generated content. Tilly’s Instagram account, which resembles that of a typical Gen Z influencer’s account, has drawn a significant wave of anger and criticism from Hollywood’s notable figures.

In response to growing industry demands, creators and studios continue to consider new rules for using AI in visual content and training models. In the meantime, OpenAI announced new measures to protect people’s images in video content and to integrate technologies with rights holders, as well as plans to block AI-generated videos in the style of living artists and to give public figures the option to opt out of having their likeness used by this technology.