The controversy around the “AI actor” Tilly Norwood continues to grow, after the actors’ union Sag-Aftra condemned the development and said Norwood’s creators were “using stolen performances”.
Sag-Aftra released a statement after the AI “talent studio” Xicoia unveiled its creation at the Zurich film festival, prompting an immediate backlash from actors including Melissa Barrera, Mara Wilson and Ralph Ineson. Sag-Aftra said it believed creativity was, “and should remain, human-centred. The union is opposed to the replacement of human performers by synthetics.”
The union added: “To be clear, ‘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 – without permission or compensation … It doesn’t solve any ‘problem’ – it creates the problem of using stolen performances to put actors out of work, jeopardising performer livelihoods and devaluing human artistry.”
Norwood appears in a short film called AI Commissioner, produced by Particle6, whose CEO, Eline Van Der Velden, said was “100% AI generated”. Van Der Velden, who launched Xicoia at Zurich, issued a statement on Sunday defending the film, saying: “I see AI not as a replacement for people, but as a new tool – a new paintbrush. Just as animation, puppetry, or CGI opened fresh possibilities without taking away from live acting, AI offers another way to imagine and build stories.”
Van Der Velden added: “Creating Tilly has been, for me, an act of imagination and craftsmanship, not unlike drawing a character, writing a role or shaping a performance. It takes time, skill and iteration to bring such a character to life.”
The Smashing Machine star Emily Blunt also added her voice to film industry members aghast at Norwood’s creation, telling a Variety podcast: “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.”
Natasha Lyonne, the Russian Doll star who is working on a feature film using “ethical” AI, was also vocal in her disapproval, saying on social media: “Any talent agency that engages in this should be boycotted by all guilds. Deeply misguided & totally disturbed. Not the way. Not the vibe. Not the use.”
Disclaimer
We strive to uphold the highest ethical standards in all of our reporting and coverage. We blogs.grocliq.com want to be transparent with our readers about any potential conflicts of interest that may arise in our work. It’s possible that some of the investors we feature may have connections to other businesses, including competitors or companies we write about. However, we want to assure our readers that this will not have any impact on the integrity or impartiality of our reporting. We are committed to delivering accurate, unbiased news and information to our audience, and we will continue to uphold our ethics and principles in all of our work. Thank you for your trust and support.
Website Upgradation is going on for any glitch kindly connect at [email protected]
