The Creator of Tilly Norwood Says 40 More AI Actors Are on the Way

We’ve reached a point of no return. Back in September, actor and technologist Eline Van der Velden and her AI talent studio Xicoia announced the creation of an AI generated actor named Tilly Norwood. The goal was, according to Van der Velden, to create the “next Scarlett Johansson.” 

In a new report from Deadline, Van der Velden revealed that Norwood is but the first of many AI generated actors to come. 

“The plan is to create 40 very diverse characters to build her whole universe and to play in this AI genre with a whole new cast,” Van der Velden told Deadline. It’s a bold move, considering the announcement of Norwood—the beautiful, fake, brunette, sweet-smiled, fake actor—earned immediate ire from Hollywood. 

“Good lord, we're screwed,” Oscar-nominated actress Emily Blunt told Variety after the news of Norwood first emerged. “That is really, really scary. Come on, agencies, don't do that.”

SAG-AFTRA, the union representing actors, went as far as condemning the creation, which they likened to mass plagiarism of real artists’ work. 

“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,” SAG-AFTRA wrote in the statement shared with Variety on September 30, shortly after news of major Hollywood talent agencies expressing interest in the computer-generated actor surfaced. 

“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,” SAG-AFTRA’s takedown continued. “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.”

It was such a sweeping rebuttal from the industry that your first instinct might be to feel bad for Norwood—until you remember this is not a piled-on ingénue but rather an amalgamation built by code stealing the faces and expressions of real life women in the industry. Van der Velden, who claims the creation of all the AI actors will be “ethical,” has clearly not been dissuaded by the backlash. Some could argue that the widespread coverage has fit exactly into the tech founder’s goals for Norwood.

“When I first envisioned Tilly, I did imagine global stardom for her, that’s what she was built for. For that to come true has been a funny self-fulfilling prophecy,” Van der Velden told Deadline. “I think it showed off our quality, and a lot of people were amazed by that, and that the quality of Tilly sparked a conversation that needed to be had around the world about: How is this tech going to fit into this industry?” 

In Van der Velden’s mind, AI actors will be just another branch of the industry. “I feel strongly that there are three genres: animation, traditional live action and the AI genre,” she said. “Tilly was always meant to be in her AI genre, and that’s where she’ll stay.”

Despite the total rebuke from actors and other Hollywood creatives, agencies that represent Hollywood actors are reportedly interested in what Van der Velden has to offer. She declined to name any specific companies or individuals, but detailed that for as much public recrimination Norwood has received, there’s been almost as many behind-the-scenes conversations. 

“As much as there was a backlash, we have been absolutely inundated with requests of top talent,” Van der Velden explained. “We’re talking to Academy Award-winning writers, directors and actors who want to explore this space to see where this can go for them. Everybody wants to have a play and that’s a positive thing. This AI renaissance is about thinking outside of the box.”

Welcome to the future, I guess. It sucks. 

You can read the complete interview on Deadline.