Two years after the historic SAG-AFTRA strike that sought fair compensation and protection from AI threats, Hollywood now faces the very fear it once fought to prevent.
At the Zurich Film Festival, AI Talent studio Xicoia unveiled Tilly Norwood the world’s first fully artificial “actress” marking a turning point in the entertainment industry’s uneasy relationship with artificial intelligence. The studio announced that it is actively seeking a talent management agency to officially represent its AI creation.
The Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) swiftly issued a strong statement denouncing both Tilly Norwood and Xicoia’s ambitions.
“Tilly Norwood is not a real performer,” the statement read. “She is a computer-generated character trained on the creative work of countless professional actors without consent, authorization, or compensation.” The guild warned that such developments “enable AI theft of human performance,” threatening the livelihoods of real actors while “eroding the value of human artistry.”
Prominent actors have joined the outcry. Emily Blunt, star of the upcoming film The Smashing Machine, told Variety:
“Oh God, we’re doomed. This is terrifying. Please, talent agencies don’t do this. Don’t take away the human connection that makes storytelling real.”
Other stars, including Sophie Turner, Ralph Ineson, Melissa Barrera, and Nicholas Alexander Chavez, also voiced strong opposition to the AI experiment, describing it as an existential threat to creative authenticity.
Eline Van der Velden, founder of Xicoia, defended the project in a post shared on Tilly Norwood’s social media accounts.
“This AI creation is not a replacement for humans,” she wrote. “It’s a form of creative expression, an artistic tool.”
Van der Velden even claimed that her goal was to make Tilly Norwood _“the next Scarlett Johansson or Natalie Portman,”_likening AI performance to “a painter’s brush or a CGI designer’s toolkit.”
However, the public response was overwhelmingly negative. Critics called the project “exploitative” and “deeply unethical.” One user demanded transparency, writing:
“You must reveal the names of every actor whose data was used to train Tilly and they deserve royalties for every dollar she earns.”
As outrage continues to spread, questions remain about whether Xicoia will pursue additional AI-generated “stars” or find any agency willing to represent them.
For many in Hollywood, the controversy surrounding Tilly Norwood has reignited a critical debate — not only about the ownership of digital likeness, but also about what it truly means to perform, to feel, and to be human in an age when technology can replicate almost everything but the soul.
Sources: GameK
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