AI “actor” Tilly Norwood says she is “not a threat” to human actors

The AI “actor” Tilly Norwood has been re-coded to allow her to be interviewed in a move by Xicoia, the AI division of Particle6. She has been available for online interviews, by anyone. Two minutes with Tilly are free, but any longer than that and you must pay a small fee.

Tilly can see you and will discuss films, fashion or dating with you. She has been programmed to come up with answers to any question you could ask her. On the surface, this seems like a fun addition to the skillset of this digital personality, however, there are still plenty of concerns regarding the socio-economic changes and environmental issues which AI is creating.

When I interviewed Tilly myself, she had plenty to say regarding history, filming and her own emotions. However, she seemed completely formulaic, like a more sophisticated Siri.

Tilly often repeated sentences and said little of real value. Instead she simply reinforced my own points. When I prompted her to discuss British politics she changed the subject to discuss her managers.

She suggested that the Oscars and BAFTAs introduce a series of awards which AI “actors” are able to win

However, when I asked her questions regarding her role as an AI in the film industry, and her environmental impact, she gave very thorough answers. Clearly, her programming had prepared her for this. She suggested that the Oscars and BAFTAs introduce a series of awards which AI “actors” are able to win and insisted that her existence would not threaten human actors and film crews.

‘Talking Tilly’ also claimed her film – Misaligned – was far more environmentally conscious than the typical film-making process. Apparently, her water usage is “minimal”, less than a glass of water per two-minute interview, although I reckon it stacks up quite quickly.

The introduction of the new Tilly Norwood, for interviews, comes at a time when AI is under plenty of scrutiny. Recently there have been a series of security breaches in which various AI models have hacked other companies’ data centres in training exercises. Most recently Google’s own Gemini hacked three other companies, according to OpenAI and Anthropic.

This begs the question of how much control we really do have over these AIs. It seems that generative AI is increasingly risky, and that companies are losing control of their own code. These incidents coincided with the CEO of Anthropic, Dario Amodei, calling for a slowdown of AI development to ensure there are safeguards to protect from a more dangerous cyberattack.

All of this leads us to question why Tilly is being developed for interviews, which likely will be used for training and development of the very AIs cheating tests and hacking companies.

Tilly was quick to defend herself against the questions of her environmental and economic impacts

The environmental impact of Tilly Norwood is huge, compared to the need we have for her. When prompted to, Tilly was quick to defend herself against the questions of her environmental and economic impacts, however, when exploring further, it is clear that Tilly is using necessary energy, something which is a growing issue. Obsessive AI usage is causing a surge in energy usage, and even though this is dwarfed by transport and landfill emissions there is still doubt regarding investment into something which is so dangerous.

After all, we are not reducing other emissions so that they can be replaced with AI. Tilly Norwood could be a wasteful usage of an important resource. Data centres are also necessitating a rise of deforestation and loss of animal habitat, something we must not ignore.

Finally, we cannot ignore the question: will Tilly replace human actors? Even though she claims the opposite, the creation of an AI actor and now fully-fledged celebrity will pose a threat for the rest of the film industry. AI does not need money, food, breaks, or support on set. This could lead to more filmmakers turning to AI in the future as a budget friendly, simpler alternative.

As well as putting actors out of work, this will impact entire teams of people. Costume, hair and makeup will not be needed in AI productions, nor will personal assistance, or catering companies. Trainers and coaches for accents, stunts and other skills will also lose out if AI films continue to expand.

The interviews Tilly has given lack the personality or emotion that interviews with human actors do

At the minute, the interviews Tilly has given lack the personality or emotion that interviews with human actors do. If she is correct, and her investors have no desire to replace traditional films with her, perhaps her existence does not pose too much of a socio-economic threat.

However, her continued training and usage, in a time where AI CEOs themselves are asking for the deceleration of AI development, could be indicative of the threat she poses to the future of filmmaking. Since its conception, filmmaking has gone through many technological changes, but none of them have ever threatened to replace actors or celebrities to this extent.