Just when you thought Hollywood couldn't get any weirder, a new debate has exploded: should an AI-generated actor get a real agent and compete for jobs?
Meet Tilly Norwood, a completely digital actress whose creators are catching serious heat for trying to get her representation. The CEO of the AI company behind Tilly tried to play it cool, calling the creation "a piece of art" and not a replacement for human beings.
Unsurprisingly, actual Hollywood actors were not amused. As reported by Variety, stars are furious at the idea of competing with an algorithm. Actress Melissa Barrera put it bluntly on her Instagram account, telling any agent who signs an AI to "read the room" and that she hopes their human clients "drop their a$$."
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Some say using an AI actor for traditional roles violates labor agreements with acting guilds.
The entertainment industry is battling over whether AI tools will replace humans. AI has been a major issue in acting strikes, and earlier this year, a group of Hollywood actors petitioned to outlaw AI training on copyrighted work.
In the social media post, Van Der Velden continued, "I also believe AI characters should be judged as part of their own genre, on their own merits, rather than compared directly with human actors."
Particle6 has been criticized over the issue of traditional Hollywood agent representation for AI creations. Recently, Van Der Velden announced that the company is spinning off an agency for AI creations called Xicoia. But that doesn't mean the main agency would stop providing traditional representation for its AI creations.
"Xicoia creates and manages the AI talent (think IP management) but they could also license out for mainstream representation, where required/requested and where appropriate," a spokesperson for Particle6 told CNET.
Norwood has appeared in a YouTube video from Particle6, and her Instagram account currently has nearly 11,000 followers. A parody account with a similar name has also popped up.