LOS ANGELES: The Hollywood performers union SAG-AFTRA has condemned the debut of an AI-generated actress named Tilly Norwood.
This synthetic performer made its world debut at a film industry conference in Zurich on Saturday.
Dutch actor-producer Eline Van der Velden created Tilly Norwood through her London-based AI production studio Particle6.
Van der Velden claimed during her Zurich Summit presentation that talent agents were showing increasing interest in the project.
She told attendees that agents were saying they needed to work with her team according to Variety reports.
The producer suggested a groundbreaking talent agency deal might be announced within months.
SAG-AFTRA responded with a strong statement opposing the replacement of human performers with synthetic ones.
The union emphasised that creativity should remain human-centered in the entertainment industry.
Tilly Norwood appears as a photo-real character in a 20-second parody video about creating an AI-generated television show.
This fictional twenty-something ingénue has shoulder-length brown hair and speaks with a British accent.
The character maintains her own social media profile where she expresses excitement about future developments.
SAG-AFTRA clarified that Tilly Norwood is not an actor but rather a computer-generated character.
Union officials noted this AI creation was trained on professional performers’ work without permission or compensation.
Van der Velden attempted to ease concerns by describing Tilly Norwood as artistic rather than replacement technology.
She previously expressed ambitions for Tilly to become as famous as Scarlett Johansson or Natalie Portman.
USC Entertainment Technology Center director Yves Bergquist dismissed the project as nonsense.
He stated that serious Hollywood executives show zero interest in developing entirely synthetic characters.
Bergquist emphasised that real actors like Scarlett Johansson have genuine fan bases because they are actual people.
The controversy reflects ongoing industry tensions about artificial intelligence’s role in creative fields.
SAG-AFTRA recently negotiated protections against AI exploitation in its latest contract talks.
Computer-generated imagery has long been part of filmmaking but fully AI performances remain distant.
The union represents 160,000 actors, announcers, recording artists and stunt performers across the industry. – Reuters
