Tilly Norwood, an AI-generated character created by AI production company Particle6, appears in a new music video that is causing a huge backlash online.
The video, which has been viewed more than 32,000 times on YouTube as of this writing, depicts a generated character singing an AI pro-AI song with lyrics such as “This is the next evolution, you know? AI is not the enemy, it’s the key.”
The music video’s caption seemed to suggest that Tilly Norwood’s creators were trying to find a way to promote the film at the Oscars: “Can’t wait to go to the Oscars! Does anyone know if there’s free valet parking for my flamingo?”
Who is Tilly Norwood?
Tilly Norwood was created by comedian and actress Eline Van der Velden, CEO of Particle 6, an AI-focused production company.
In a statement after the video was taken down, Van der Velden insisted that Tilly Norwood was not intended to be a replacement for human actors, but was a “creative work” that “sparks a conversation”.
Mr van der Velden said Tilly Norwood’s creation required “imagination and craftsmanship”, but her work had previously drawn the ire of Hollywood.
“I have no feelings”
Many actors have spoken out against the character, and the Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) union issued a strong statement in September clarifying that “‘Tilly Norwood’ is not an actor.”
“[Tilly Norwood] “This is a character generated without permission or compensation by a computer program trained on the work of countless professional performers,” the union wrote.
“This production has no life experience or emotion to draw from it, and from what we’ve seen, viewers aren’t interested in watching computer-generated content divorced from human experience.”
SAG-AFTRA added that Tilly Norwood is “not solving any problems” and is creating problems surrounding stolen performances and actor unemployment.
backlash
Van der Velden’s work was also poorly received by viewers online, with comments on the music video being overwhelmingly negative.
“Don’t they see the brilliance and creativity in humans?” one user asked, quoting the song’s lyrics. “Well…there isn’t one.”
Another commenter declared, “Best argument I’ve ever seen about how bad AI is.”
“It’s really cold.”
Other commenters, on the other hand, found it horrifying.
One poster wrote: “This is literally AI propaganda.” “‘Don’t be left behind, don’t fall behind/Build it yourself and you’ll be free.’ It’s truly chilling.”
In a Reddit post responding to a Gizmodo article that claimed Tilly Norwood “dropped” the music video, another user clarified: “No, a brand dropped it. No fictional character did anything.”
One contributor suggested, “Let’s stop calling this an actor, even if it’s in quotation marks.”
unpopular technology
AI is significantly unpopular in the United States.
According to a national survey of more than 1,000 American voters conducted by NBC News, only 26 percent view AI positively, while 46 percent view it negatively.
This -20 split makes AI less popular than both former presidential candidates Kamala Harris and President Donald Trump.
Still, technology companies are increasing their investment in AI and pushing it to consumers.
newsweek has reached out to Particle6 for comment via email.
