Emily Blunt, SAG-AFTRA speak out against AI-generated actress

Some of Hollywood’s biggest stars and the union that represents them are speaking out against the creation of an AI-generated actress following reports that she will soon by signed by a talent agency.

The AI-generated actress, named Tilly Norwood, is the creation of Eline Van der Velden, the founder of Particle6, a United Kingdom-based AI production studio.

Van der Velden recently created buzz about Norwood when she claimed in a Sept. 27 panel at the Zurich Summit that the company was in talks to sign its AI creation  with a talent agency to represent her for acting roles.

The statement prompted backlash in Hollywood, including from actress Emily Blunt, who described the prospect as “terrifying.”

@tillynorwood/Instagram – PHOTO: Tilly Norwood is an AI-generated actress created by Eline Van der Velden.

“That is really, really scary, Come on, agencies, don’t do that. Please stop. Please stop taking away our human connection,” Blunt told Variety on Monday.

Marvel star Simu Liu took to Instagram to comment, saying sarcastically, “Movies are great, but you know, what would be better is if the characters in them weren’t played by actual humans, but by AI replicas approximating human emotion.”

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Whoopi Goldberg, an Oscar-winning actress and co-host of ABC’s “The View,” said she believes AI-generated actors have an “unfair advantage” over human actors.

“You are suddenly up against something that’s been generated with 5,000 other actors … so it’s a little bit of an unfair advantage,” Goldberg said Monday on “The View.”

SAG-AFTRA, the union that represents actors, also spoke out Monday against the use of AI actors, saying in a statement, “SAG-AFTRA believes creativity is, and should remain, human-centered. The union is opposed to the replacement of human performers by synthetics.”

“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 has no life 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. It doesn’t solve any ‘problem’ — it creates the problem of using stolen performances to put actors out of work, jeopardizing performer livelihoods and devaluing human artistry,” the statement continued.

An account for the AI-generated actress has more than 30,000 followers on Instagram, where clips showing her acting are shared, including what the AI creation is heard describing as her first acting role.

“I star in AI Commissioner, a new comedy sketch that playfully explores the future of TV development produced by the brilliant team at @particle6productions,” read a video caption posted July 30 on the Tilly Norwood account. “I may be AI, but I’m feeling very real emotions right now. I am so excited for what’s coming next!”

Just one day after her comment about Norwood’s future with a talent agency, Van der Velden said in a statement that she views Norwood as a “piece of art,” not a replacement for human actors.

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“For those who have expressed anger over the creation of our AI character, Tilly Norwood: She is not a replacement for a human being, but a creative work — a piece of art,” Van der Velden wrote. “Like many forms of art before her, she sparks conversation, and that in itself, shows the power of creativity.”

She continued, “I see AI not as a replacement for people, but as a new tool — a new paintbrush. Just as animation, puppetry or CGI open 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.”