Whoopi Goldberg is challenging the creation of AI actress Tilly Norwood and doubting Tilly can steal jobs away from real actors since human performers “move differently, our faces move differently, our bodies move differently” (via Entertainment Weekly). Tilly has dominated recent headlines in Hollywood ever since actor, comedian and producer Eline Van der Velden announced at the Zurich Summit that her AI creation is courting interest from multiple talent agents who are allegedly interested in signing her.
Hollywood stars such as Melissa Barrera, Kiersey Clemons, Mara Wilson and more were quick to condemn the AI creation on social media, while Van der Velden defended Tilly (who was created by the AI production studio Particle6) by saying: “She is not a replacement for a human being, but a creative work – a piece of art.”
“After many human actors called for a boycott against agencies who sign AI actors, the studio claims Tilly is not a replacement for a human being, but a creative work, and AI characters should be judged as part of their own genre, rather than compared directly with human actors,” Goldberg said with a sarcastic bent during “The View.”
“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 explained. “It’s got Bette Davis’ attitude, it’s got Humphrey Bogart’s lips… And so it’s a little bit of an unfair advantage. But you know what? Bring it on. You can always tell them from us. We move differently, our faces move differently, our bodies move differently.”
Goldberg maintained that the technology to create a fully believable AI performer “isn’t seamless yet,” though she said “maybe in two or three years,” it will be. The comedian concluded: “Hopefully, we’ll be able to hold on because what this means is AI in the workplace — not just my workplace, but in every industry… Some industries are using AI now. People talk about people are so lonely they don’t have a connection, if you stick with this, with AI, you won’t have any connection to anything but your phone.”
In her defense of Tilly’s creation, Van der Velden added: “I see AI not as a replacement for people, but as a new tool, a new paintbrush. Just as animation, puppetry, or CGI opened fresh possibilities without taking away from live acting, AI offers another way to imagine and build stories. I’m an actor myself, and nothing – certainly not an AI character – can take away the craft or joy of human performance.”
Speaking to Broadcast International in July, Van der Velden said she wanted Tilly “to be the next Scarlett Johansson or Natalie Portman.”
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