SAG-AFTRA responds to Tilly Norwood

Photo Credit: AI actress ‘Tilly Norwood’ (Instagram)

SAG-AFTRA releases a statement condemning newly advertised computer-generated actress called Tilly Norwood. “It has no life experience to draw from.”

Over the weekend, the creator of computer-generated actress Tilly Norwood responded to critics online after news that the AI studio was looking for management options for the synthetic talent. Now, U.S. talent labor union SAG-AFTRA has released a statement condemning “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,” wrote SAG-AFTRA.

“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. 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.”

“Additionally, signatory producers should be aware that they may not use synthetic performers without complying with our contractual obligations, which require notice and bargaining whenever a synthetic performer is going to be used,” the statement cautions.

Numerous actors have also spoken out against the use of synthetic performers, including Whoopi Goldberg, Melissa Barrera, and Mara Wilson.

“The problem with this, in my humble opinion, is that you are suddenly up against something that’s been generated with 5,000 other actors,” Goldberg said during The View. “It’s got Bette Davis’ attitude, it’s got Humphrey Bogart’s lips… And so it’s a little bit of an unfair advantage. But you know what? Bring it on. You can always tell them from us. We move differently, our faces move differently, our bodies move differently.”

Further, Goldberg said she believes the technology to actually create a believable AI performer “isn’t seamless yet,” but perhaps it will be in “two or three years.”

“Hopefully, we’ll be able to hold on because what this means is AI in the workplace—not just my workplace, but in every industry… Some industries are using AI now,” she added.

Eline Van der Velden, Dutch founder of AI company Particle 6 Productions, who unveiled Tilly Norwood and AI talent studio Xicoia at Zurich Film Festival, recently emphasized that the synthetic performer is “not a replacement for a human being.”

“I see AI not as a replacement for people but as a new tool, a new paintbrush,” she said. “Just as animation, puppetry, or CGI opened fresh possibilities without taking away from live acting, 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.”

“Creating Tilly has been, for me, an act of imagination and craftsmanship, not unlike drawing a character, writing a role, or shaping a performance,” Van der Velden concluded.