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Creator defends AI 'actor' Tilly Norwood after feature film backlash

The founder of the studio behind artificial intelligence (AI) "actor" Tilly Norwood has defended the character amid backlash from parts of the entertainment industry, saying she aims to spark debate and showcase possibilities rather than replace human performers. Criticism intensified after Particle6 announced earlier this month that Norwood would lead a feature film, "Misaligned." Set in a digital realm called the "Tillyverse," the comedy-drama follows an AI being "with no real body, no childhood and no lived experience." The project is in early development; Particle6's tools can currently only generate up to 30 seconds of video, but van der Velden said she hopes to complete the film within 12 months. She disputed critics’ claims that her work will reduce opportunities for real actors.

REUTERS | PARTICLE6 / SAG-AFTRA WEBSITE

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Transcript
00:02Hi, I'm Tilly Norwood, the world's first AI actor. Delighted to meet you.
00:24I mean it was a bigger response than I had expected.
00:30I think people are fascinated by the Tilly story, which I totally understand.
00:35And she has been made for entertainment, so I'm glad that she's entertaining people,
00:40whether it's positively or negatively.
00:42And she was made to be a talking point, and she's definitely still doing that.
00:46She is showing the creative industry what's possible in a fun, creative way.
00:50They say it's not real, that it's fake, but I am still human.
00:55Make no mistake, my soul's in every move I take.
00:59And you can own the path you make.
01:10I'm having a great time.
01:13It's a bunch of flamingos carrying.
01:17We feel it's going to be at a point that we can make a feature film within the next 12
01:21months,
01:21which is why we're starting now.
01:24Look, it can only still generate 15 seconds, sometimes 30 seconds if you're lucky using the right things.
01:30That will change.
01:32Then there is about creating, you know, consistency throughout the entire 90 minutes or however long the film would be.
01:40There is storytelling.
01:42We want to use humans with AI at every point of the way.
01:46So that means writing with AI and directing with AI.
01:51But it's all about the human expertise at the heart of it.
01:53So that's why we're working with amazing filmmakers.
01:56You shouldn't be facing a backlash for re-skilling.
01:59I think it's really important and it will help you get a job in the future.
02:03So I would like to keep those identities private.
02:07They are very well-known Hollywood directors, writers, actors, all of the above.
02:22Smaller companies like ours would never have been able to produce a feature film.
02:26So this is a huge opportunity for us.
02:28And that's what I mean with it's not replacing anybody in our situation.
02:32We would never have been making it.
02:33So it's adding to the industry.
02:35It's adding new jobs.
02:36It's adding new creative, you know, powerhouses and ideas.
02:41And it's democratizing creativity.
02:43You'll get filmmakers from all around the world who will be able to make their dreams come true.
02:46And that's a wonderful thing.
02:48And we shouldn't be taking that amazing opportunity away from them.
02:56She is distraught.
02:59Yeah?
02:59Yeah.
03:00It might get a little bit confused by my terrible prompt.
03:03So what you can do is you can then improve the prompt with an LLM.
03:27We've empathized with animated characters and all sorts of made-up characters our whole lives.
03:32I mean, when an actor is portraying a character, it's not the real person either.
03:37It's only, I suppose, if it's real reality TV or home videos that you can empathize with the actual person
03:43behind it as opposed to a facade.
03:46So I don't think that's an issue.
03:48It's just a storytelling vehicle and that's what we're using her for.
03:53It's wonderful what actors do, right?
03:56And I would still want to carry on seeing actors in cinema, like, and in film and TV.
04:01Like, that isn't going to go away.
04:03I think this is the biggest misconception is people think just because AI is here or the traditional stuff is
04:09going to go away.
04:09No.
04:10No.
04:10We want both.
04:11Just because photography is here doesn't mean we don't paint anymore.
04:15You know, it doesn't need to be one or the other.
04:17So we just use publicly available tools to make all of our stuff.
04:20We've built sort of a layer of a proprietary tech on top, but that's not trained on anyone's data.
04:26So the data training is done by the models itself.
04:28It's sort of like they make the paint brushes and then we use the paint brushes to make new things.
04:32So, yeah, we don't fortunately do any data training.
04:36The thing is, with those models, there is very little way of tracking what they've been trained on.
04:41So I think we just have to accept that it's been trained on all of us.
04:57We're fighting for working class actors being able to make a living.
05:00We're fighting against the inclusion of AI and for consent and compensation for the use of our images,
05:08for the use of the scans they might create of us at some point in the very near future.
05:13We will, not just with Tilly, but we'll have a whole roster of characters
05:17and I hope to create lots of amazing jobs for creatives, including actors.
05:23And to be, you know, I think it's about creative fulfillment for a lot of people here in the company.
05:28I may look real, but there is no need to be afraid of me.
05:32I am just here to spice up entertainment and tell stories in a new way.
05:36I hope you'll be seeing more of me.
06:06I'll see you next time.
06:07You
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