SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — The creator of an artificial intelligence character billed as an AI “actress” has been forced to respond following a backlash to rumors that talent agents were interested in character. The character, “Tilly Norwood,” is “not a replacement for a human being, but a creative work,” the AI’s creator, Eline Van der Velden, said in an Instagram post over the weekend.
The post, addressed to “those who have expressed anger over the creation,” of the character, went on to say that, “Like many forms of art before her, she sparks conversation, and that in itself shows the power of creativity.”
Van der Velden, the Dutch founder of AI production company, Particle 6, made the post in seeming response to online backlash that has sprung up in the wake of multiple talent agents reportedly being interested in signing the Norwood character.
A host of actors responded over the weekend to reports that agencies were interested in signing the AI actress. Toni Collette posted a string of screaming emojis, while Melissa Barrera, start of “In the Heights” and “Scream,” posted, “Hope all actors repped by the agent that does this, drop their a$$. How gross, read the room.”
“She was a nightmare to work with!!!” wrote “White Lotus” star Lukas Gage.
But Van der Velden, in her post, maintained she sees AI “not as a replacement for people, but as a new tool — a new paintbrush,” comparing the technology to animation, puppetry, or CGI, saying that “AI offers another way to imagine and build stories.”
“I’m an actor myself, and nothing — certainly not an AI character — can take away the craft or joy of human performance,” she wrote. “Creating Tilly has been, for me, an act of imagination and craftsmanship, not unlike drawing a character, writing a role or shaping a performance.”
A website for Tilly Norwood, which was created by Particle 6’s adjacent AI studio, Xicoia, bills the character as an actor based in London. Links to social media for the character take users to Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook pages. A link to a LinkedIn account, however, led to a “This page doesn’t exist” message.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Van der Velden plans to announce Tilly Norwood’s representation in the coming months.
San Francisco has declared itself the global capital of the AI industry, with leading startups like Anthropic and OpenAI based here.
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