Equity condemns AI-actor Tilly Norwood: “That’s not a performer”
Leading UK acting union Equity has become the latest institution to condemn Tilly Norwood, an actor created by artificial intelligence.
Norwood rose to prominence at the Zurich Film Festival when Eline Van der Velden, the founder of the AI company Particle 6 Productions, unveiled plans to launch Xicoia, the world’s first talent studio for AI generation. Additionally, Ven der Velden announced Norwood and revealed she is seeking representation for the AI creation.
As of writing, the Instagram account for Norwood has over 46,000 followers, and is filled with a mix of AI-images, ranging from her walking in a park to being in a coffee shop to a film set.
Van der Velden has also issued a statement on the page, defending Norwood as “not a replacement for a human being, but a creative work.”
However, the backlash from Hollywood to Norwood has been seismic. Emily Blunt, while speaking on a podcast with Variety, said after being shown Norwood, “That is really, really scary. Come on, agencies, don’t do that. Please stop. Please stop taking away our human connection.”
Now, Equity, which is the union for actors in the UK, has also criticised the creation of Norwood. Equity’s audio and new media organiser, Shannon Sailing, told the BBC (per Variety): “Tilly is not an actress. She is an AI tool. Or it is an AI tool. That’s not a performer.”
Sailing continued: “But what that tool is is made up of performers’ work and we are concerned about where that work has come from, and if that’s been given consent to be used in that way.”
She also believes that agencies should think again before considering signing Norwood, stating, “It feels irresponsible to me,” said Sailing of the news. “I think agents should be really focusing on ensuring that the industry is supporting performers as AI comes into the fold.”
SAG-AFTRA previously condemned Norwood earlier this week, sharing on social media, “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.”
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