#ai-generated-actors

#ai-generated-actors

From July 14 to November 9, 2023, the American actors' union SAG-AFTRA, representing 160,000 people, went on strike over a labor dispute with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. Eventually, both sides agreed to terms that theoretically would put limits on how actor's images and output could be used. Strike over, everybody went back to work and the entertainment industrial complex started humming again.

The Tilly phenomenon sparked a hullabaloo in Hollywood after tech start-up Particle6 began hyping this so-called AI actor as the world's next breakthrough superstar. This digital creation looks like a relatively photo-real twenty-something white brunette, the type you might cast as sweet kindergarten teacher or non-mean sorority sister in a movie or TV show. But there is someone else, someone from a quarter-century ago, that she calls to mind.

The threat to human creativity from technology took another step closer this week with the appearance of Tilly Norwood, the first 100% AI-generated actor. Unsurprisingly, her unveiling at the Zurich film festival in a comic sketch called AI Commissioner caused an outcry. Emily Blunt described the film as terrifying and the actors' union Sag-Aftra condemned it as jeopardising performer livelihoods and devaluing human artistry.

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.

"You'll either get it or pretend you don't," AI-generated character Tilly Norwood's Instagram bio declares. Melissa Barrera, Natasha Lyonne, and Whoopi Goldberg are among multiple celebrities who have reacted with disgust to reports that talent agencies are interested in signing the AI avatar to star in real projects. Following the backlash, Tilly's creator issued a statement standing ten toes down for tech that infamously struggles with hands and feet.