The creator of AI-generated actress Tilly Norwood has been forced to defend their creation after a furious online backlash. “To those who have expressed anger over the creation of my AI character, Tilly Norwood, she is not a replacement for a human being, but a creative work – a piece of art,” actress and comedian Eline Van der Velden wrote after reports that talent agencies were looking to sign the character. “Like many forms of art before her, she sparks conversation, and that in itself shows the power of creativity,” said Van der Velden, the founder of AI talent studio Xicoia. She said AI was a new tool in the vein of animation, puppetry, or CGI, and was not intended to replace live acting. “I’m an actor myself, and nothing, certainly not an AI character, can take away the craft or joy of human performance,” she added. Van der Velden debuted the Norwood character earlier this year, prompting interest from talent scouts and fury from fellow actors, who refused to work with AI-generated ‘actors’ and proposed a boycott of studios looking to use them. “AI characters should be judged as part of their own genre, on their own merits,” wrote Van der Velden.
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