The creator of AI actress Tilly Norwood has issued a statement following a fierce weekend backlash over news that talent agents are already interested in signing digital characters.
“To those who expressed their anger at the creation of my AI character, Tilly Norwood, she is not a human alternative, but a creative piece. Like many forms of art before her, she shows the power of creativity in itself.”
“I think of AI as a new tool, a new painting brush, not a replacement for people. Just as animation, puppets, or CGI opened up fresh possibilities without robbing live acting, AI offers another way to imagine and build stories.
Norwood is the first to emerge from the recently released AI Talent Studio Xicoia. This is a spin-off from Van der Velden’s AI production studio Particle 6. Speaking at the Zurich Summit on Saturday, van der Belden said the agents are circling AI characters and that an announcement will be made about which institutions will represent her in the coming months.
This news has caused a wave of res, especially within the acting community, with several famous names chiding among hundreds of angry messages left in the comments section online. Several people suggested that the anger should target agents who signed Norwood.
“All actors are represented by agents who do this and drop A$$. How to gross, read the room,” wrote Melissa Barrera on Instagram.
“From an agent. I want a name,” Kiersey Clemons added.
“And what about hundreds of living young women whose faces are synthesized together? Did you not hire one of them?” she focused on Mara Wilson.
Adding a touch of humor to vitriol, Lucas Gage writes that Norwood is “the night we work together.” And “I couldn’t mark her, and I was late!”
Meanwhile, Toni Colette responded succinctly with a series of screaming emojis.
See the van der Velden statement below.
Speaking to Broadcast International in July, van der Belden said Norwood “want to be the next Scarlett Johansson or Natalie Portman.”
