British acting union Equity has joined the criticism being directed toward Tilly Norwood, the so-called AI “actress” who has spent much of this week in the spotlight as one of the industry’s most controversial new developments.
Following condemnations from SAG-AFTRA, Equity execs in the U.K. have now dismissed any suggestion of Norwood’s acting capabilities but offered deep concern over the origins of the source material that was used to build her.
“Tilly is not an actress. She is an AI tool. Or it is in AI tool. That’s not a performer,” said Equity’s audio and new media organizer Shannon Sailing, speaking to BBC Radio. “But what that tool is is made up of performers’ work and we are concerned about where that work has come from, and if that’s been given consent to be used in that way.”
Meanwhile, general secretary Paul Fleming said Equity had been looking into ways it could ascertain how AI creations such as Norwood were put together.
“We’re at the stage in AI where so much data has been used that the original source becomes more and more unclear. And that’s something that should worry every viewer, every working person, because that’s not really the way our data should be being used,” he told Sky News. “We as a union have been looking at using things like GDPR data protection regulations to make demands of companies to find out where the data that goes into these creatures comes from to make sure that there isn’t an abuse of our members work.”
Norwood sparked immediate backlash earlier in the week after Eline Van der Velden, head of AI production studio Particle6 which developed the character, claimed that she had already attracted the attention of talent agents hoping to sign her.
“It feels irresponsible to me,” said Sailing of the news. “I think agents should be really focusing on ensuring that the industry is supporting performers as AI comes into the fold.”
Days after making the claim about agents knocking on her door about Norwood, Van der Velden offered a defense of her creation by saying it was “not a replacement for a human being, but a creative work — a piece of art.”
“I see AI not as a replacement for people, but as a new tool, a new paintbrush,” Van der Velden added. “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.”
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