The creator of AI actress Tilly Norwood has responded to critics following fierce backlash, telling social media users: “She is not a replacement for a human being.”
Eline Van der Velden, Dutch founder of AI outfit Particle 6 Productions, announced at Zurich Film Festival the launch of Xicoia, “the world’s first artificial intelligence talent studio.” She has now responded via Instagram in a statement also shared to Norwood’s account, after movie fans and celebrities reacted with outrage to the news that the studio was looking to get the artificially generated actress representation.
“To those who have expressed anger over the creation of my AI character, Tilly Norwood, she is not a replacement for a human being, but a creative work — a piece of art,” said Van der Velden on Sunday. “Like many forms of art before her, she sparks conversation, and that in itself shows the power of creativity.”
“I see AI not as a replacement for people, but as a new tool, a new paintbrush,” she continued. “Just as animation, puppetry, or CGI opened fresh possibilities without taking away from live acting, AI offers another way to imagine and build stories. I’m an actor myself, and nothing — certainly not an AI character — can take away the craft or joy of human performance… Creating Tilly has been, for me, an act of imagination and craftmanship, not unlike drawing a character, writing a role or shaping a poerformance.”
Van der Velden, who wants to announce Norwood’s agency in the coming months, also said she believes AI characters “should be judged as part of their own genre, on their own merits, rather than compared directly with human actors.”
Over the weekend, a host of actors responded to the news that agencies were circling Norwood. The threat of AI has long haunted industry creatives, and regulations around the craft became a linchpin clause through the SAG-AFTRA strikes of 2023. Notable uses of AI in film and television include the de-aging of certain actors or generating complex visual effects, but fears concerning AI’s ability to replace actors — or illegally use their likeness — have continued to creep up on Hollywood.
Melissa Barrera, star of In the Heights and the Scream franchise, wrote: “Hope all actors repped by the agent that does this, drop their a$$. How gross, read the room,” while Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story‘s Nicholas Alexander Chavez said: “Not an actress actually nice try.”
Elsewhere, Lukas Gage poked fun at Norwood. “She was a nightmare to work with!!!!” the actor wrote. Toni Colette simply posted a string of screaming emojis, and Matilda‘s Mara Wilson said on Instagram: “Shame on these people. They have stolen the faces of hundreds of young women to make this AI ‘actress.’ They’re not creators. They’re identity thieves.”