The promise and threat of AI “actor” Tilly Norwood looms large as the AI-generated character made his video acting debut in a music video on Tuesday. The music video for “Take the Lead,” created entirely using AI tools, features Norwood singing a song about the backlash against her own existence, with lyrics asserting her authenticity.
“When they talk about me, they don’t see / Human brilliance, creativity,” she sings. “Behind the cord, behind the light/I’m just a tool, but I have a life/I didn’t come out of nowhere, no.”
But by the chorus, Norwood’s song starts to sound a bit menacing, as it calls on the other actors to create their own AI-generated copies (or characters) so they don’t get left behind.
Actors, it’s time to take control.
Create the future, sow seeds
Don’t be left behind, don’t fall behind
Build it yourself and you’ll be free
Possible to expand and grow
Be the creator we’ve always known
It’s the next evolution, can’t you see?
AI is not the enemy, it’s the key
The disclaimer before the music video states that the video was created by “18 real people, from production designers to costume designers to teleprompters to editors to actors.” But music still has those little sounds that AI-generated songs tend to have, and video generation can be done very easily by AI.
The song was generated using Suno, and the accompanying video was created by the team at Particle6 using various AI tools.
Tilly Norwood was created by Elaine van der Velden, CEO of Particle6 and AI talent studio Xicoia. He had been promising to introduce Norwood as an AI-generated actress in film and television for some time. When Norwood was first introduced, there was speculation that the agency was looking to sign her, but major talent agencies pushed back and made it clear they would not represent Norwood.
Van der Velden sought to allay concerns about AI-generated performers replacing human actors in December, saying, “I underestimated Tilly’s impact on the world because, as an artist, you’re always trying to resonate with something that evokes interest and thought in the audience. Ultimately, as an artist, that was the effect I was trying to have. I was trying to show the world what the state of technology is.”
Watch Tilly Norwood’s music video below.
