:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/AI-Tilly-Norwood-093025-1-c7efc4850b214bb2bb6da91e32f6bbd1.jpg)
In the wake of AI actress Tilly Norwood making headlines, SAG-AFTRA has published a statement formally condemning the use of the “synthetic performer.”
On Tuesday, the labor union that represents actors and other talent weighed in on the rapidly escalating conversation that began after news broke that a newly launched AI talent studio was looking to get their computer-generated creation representation from Hollywood agencies.
“SAG-AFTRA believes creativity is, and should remain, human-centered. The union is opposed to the replacement of human performers by synthetics,” the union declared in the opening of its statement.
Tilly Norwood/Instagram
It continued, “To be clear, ‘Tilly Norwood’ is not an actor, it’s a character generated by a computer program that was trained on the work of countless professional performers — without permission or compensation. It has no life experience to draw from, no emotion and, from what we’ve seen, audiences aren’t interested in watching computer-generated content untethered from the human experience. It doesn’t solve any ‘problem’ — it creates the problem of using stolen performances to put actors out of work, jeopardizing performer livelihoods and devaluing human artistry.”
“Additionally,” the statement concluded, “signatory producers should be aware that they may not use synthetic performers without complying with our contractual obligations, which require notice and bargaining whenever a synthetic performer is going to be used.”
The industry’s growing fascination with AI has created a rising apprehension from actors and other creatives about how the ever-evolving technology is transforming the media landscape.
AI was a prominent point of contention during the SAG-AFTRA strike in 2023, with one of the main issues being the use of AI in generating and perpetuating actors’ likenesses. When SAG-AFTRA members who work on video games went on strike a year later, it was primarily over the use of AI.
Melissa Barrera, Nicholas Alexander Chavez, Lukas Gage, Mara Wilson and Toni Colette were among the stars condemning the news of Norwood’s possible signing.
On Monday, Whoopi Goldberg warned The View viewers with a sentiment similar to SAG-AFTRA’s. “The problem with this, in my humble opinion, is that you are suddenly up against something that’s been generated with 5,000 other actors,” Goldberg said. “It’s got Bette Davis’ attitude, it’s got Humphrey Bogart’s lips,” she continued, while conservative cohost Alyssa Farah Griffin added that it has Goldberg’s humor.
“It’s got my humor, thank you darling,” the 69-year-old Ghost, Sister Act, and The Color Purple actress continued, “And so it’s a little bit of an unfair advantage. You know what? Bring it on. You can always tell them from us. We move differently, our faces move differently, our bodies move differently.”
Despite the majority being trepidatious about AI’s advancement in the industry, some actors are more open to it.
During a Glamour, interview with the stars of The Morning Show earlier this month, Reese Witherspoon encouraged women to get move involved in artificial intelligence as it becomes more embedded in the media industry.
“It’s so, so important that women are involved in AI…because it will be the future of filmmaking,” she told Glamour. “And you can be sad and lament it all you want, but the change is here. It will never be a lack of creativity and ingenuity and actual physical manual building of things. It might diminish, but it’s always going to be the highest importance in art and in expression of self.”
The Legally Blonde star said that she uses AI “every day,” adding that it’s “an incredible tool to save time.”
While speaking on a panel at CNBC’s Delivering Alpha investor summit in 2024, Ben Affleck also proclaimed his belief that “movies will be one of the last things, if everything gets replaced, to be replaced by AI.”
Asked if he worries about AI being used to create movies from scratch, Affleck replied, “That’s not possible now. Will it be possible in the future? Highly unlikely.”
The Argo director, who co-owns the production company Artists Equity with Matt Damon, went on to explain how he believes AI will actually factor into the future of moviemaking. As Affleck sees it, the technology has the potential to affect the “more laborious, less creative, and more costly aspects of filmmaking,” by bringing costs down which will in turn lower the barrier to entry and “allow more voices to be heard.”
