It was only a matter of time before Hollywood started replacing its A-listers with AI-listers. That might not ever happen completely, but when AI production studio Particle6 publicly announced the first official AI actress, which was given the name of Tilly Norwood, it sparked a lot of debate. Part of that debate is how far Hollywood might take the idea of having AI stars.
But another more important part is the fact that the AI actress is a woman.
A woman who cannot say no to anything. And that’s a big problem. As one user on TikTok, whose name is Cayleigh Pine, points out in her video about Tilly, producers can do whatever they want with the AI actress as they digitally place her in whatever scenes or settings they want.
As a computer program, so to speak, the AI figure is not a human and is not legally obligated to maintain any rights that a human actress might have. The idea of technology advancing to an age where we have the ability to do this is one thing.
Actually putting it into action is scary for many, especially since the first AI actress is a woman.
@caylsp we love the future #tillynorwood #ai #acting #film ♬ original sound – caylsp
The first AI actress could potentially be taken advantage of.
If shows like Westworld and Black Mirror taught us anything, it’s that even self-aware robots don’t get empathy from all humans. OK, that’s just a fictional show, but for some, it is almost speculative fiction, in that it paints a picture of where the world could be someday.
The AI actress Tilly is evidence of that in real time. As Cayleigh points out in her video, there is more to the fear of an AI than meets the eye.
“It feels very intentional that, for the first big AI actor, they chose to go with a very, very young appearing woman,” Cayleigh says. “And they’re able to now place her in any role or situation that they digitally can create because she can’t say no. They can do whatever they want with her.”
Someone tried to drive Cayleigh’s point home in the comments with, “She can’t say no. SHE CAN’T SAY NO.”
Another user commented, “Most importantly she won’t age.” If that doesn’t give people the ick just a little bit, then they may need to dig a little deeper to understand the problematic nature in Tilly being a young woman.
Someone else pointed out that having an AI actress who can essentially do whatever a producer or director wants could put pressure on real life human actors.
“If this AI ‘actress’ can just do anything, it’ll pressure real actors to go along with crazier requests out of a fear of being replaced, leading to more exploitative work spaces,” they wrote.
Eline Van der Velden of Particle6 posted a statement on Instagram following the flurry of concern among many about what the creation of Tilly means for other actors and for human interaction with the AI creation.
“To those who have expressed anger over the creation of my Al character, Tilly Norwood: she is not a replacement for a human being, but a creative work — a piece of art,” Eline wrote. “Like many forms of art before her, she sparks conversation, and that in itself shows the power of creativity.
I see Al not as a replacement for people, but as a new tool —a new paintbrush. Just as animation, puppetry, or CGl opened fresh possibilities without taking away from live acting, Al offers another way to imagine and build stories.”
