U.K. acting union Equity has joined the chorus of critics slamming the creation of a computer-generated actress named Tilly Norwood, which has the film and TV industry in uproar.
Earlier in the week, U.S. labor union SAG-AFTRA weighed in on the debate after Norwood’s creator, Eline Van der Velden of AI production outfit Particle6, claimed talent agencies were circling the “actress.” She was forced to defend the project after announcing the launch of the “world’s first AI talent studio,” Xicoia, at Zurich Film Festival, maintaining Norwood is “not a replacement for a human being.”
SAG-AFTRA said in a statement: “The union is opposed to 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… 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.”
Now, executives in charge of the British union Equity have also condemned Van der Velden’s creation, calling into question just how Norwood was built and from what source material she’s derived. “Tilly is not an actress. She is an AI tool. Or it is in AI tool. That’s not a performer,” the company’s audio and new media organizer Shannon Sailing told BBC’s Radio 4 in a clip posted to Equity’s Instagram. “But what that tool is is made up of performers’ work and we are concerned about where that work has come from, and if that’s been given consent to be used in that way.”
Equity’s general secretary Paul Fleming told Sky News on Thursday: “A computer program has created something fundamentally disconnected from the work of acting, the craft of acting — but also the soul of a human being.”
“We’re at the stage in AI where so much data has been used that the original source becomes more and more unclear,” Fleming continued, “and that’s something that should worry every viewer, every working person, because that’s not really the way our data should be being used.” He added that the union have been looking at using GDPR data protection regulations “to make demands of companies to find out where the data that goes into these creatures comes from to make sure that there isn’t an abuse of our members work.”
In an official statement on the union’s website, Equity said it is demanding minimum standards in relation to use of AI across the film and television industry. “Alongside these critical negotiations, we continue to lobby the U.K. government to strengthen performers rights so that all artists are protected, including those in other sectors who do not benefit from the safeguards of union contracts.”
“Technological advancements must not come at the expense of those who bring art to life,” the statement ended.
The looming threat of AI has continued to panic Hollywood with Norwood now an emblem of that fear. Regulations around the use of AI tools in film and TV were front and center throughout the SAG-AFTRA strikes of 2023. Among the celebrities to deplore the news of Norwood being signed to an agency are Emily Blunt, Toni Colette, Melissa Barrera, Natasha Lyonne and Whoopi Goldberg.
Van der Velden defended her business on Sunday via Instagram, saying: “I see AI not as a replacement for people but as a new tool, a new paintbrush.”
She wrote: “Just as animation, puppetry, or CGI opened fresh possibilities without taking away from live acting, AI offers another way to imagine and build stories … Creating Tilly has been, for me, an act of imagination and craftsmanship, not unlike drawing a character, writing a role or shaping a performance.”