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When outlets began reporting that Tilly Norwood, an A.I.-generated actress, was “in talks” to sign with a talent agent, Hollywood was outraged. Stella Hennen, however, was confused. “My friend sent me a video, and at first I thought she was pranking me,” the 20-year-old from Nashville told Slate—and not just because the concept of an “A.I. actress” is already baffling enough. It was because Tilly Norwood, supposedly a fictional character, looks exactly like Hennen, a real person.
“GUYS WHY IS THIS AI ACTRESS TILLY NORWOOD LOWKEY MY DOPPLEGANGER,” Hennen captioned a recent TikTok video that featured her posing side by side with the avatar. The video quickly went viral, with many commenters comparing it to the “Joan Is Awful” Black Mirror episode, which is based on a similar premise. Xicoia, a talent studio launched by A.I. production studio Particle 6, denies that Hennen’s likeness was used “in any way” to create Tilly Norwood.
“Tilly was developed entirely from scratch using original creative design,” the company said in a statement to Slate. “We do not and will not use any person or performer’s likeness without explicit consent and fair compensation.”
Still, Hennen, an indie singer-songwriter with her own hopes of being in the spotlight, is freaked out. “I was double-taking every single picture I saw because it literally felt like I was looking at things I forgot I did,” she said. Shortly after she shared her story on TikTok, she spoke with Slate on the phone to chat about what this uncanny resemblance may mean for Hennen’s future.
Hi! Wow. What have the reactions been to your video?
Everybody’s like, “You should sue!” I’m just a girl. I’m 20. I don’t know anything when it comes to [A.I.] I did end up texting my management and my lawyers and seeing what they thought about it. I don’t know what’s gonna come about from it. At first I posted it kind of lighthearted, like, “Oh, ha, she looks like me.” And then I think all the comments started freaking me out a bit. I was like, you know what? This is a little disturbing and scary because what are they gonna do with this A.I. character that resembles me a lot?
Is there a part of you that’s like, Wait, did I post a photo that they used?
Right before you called, I read this comment that said, “One of your exes must have put your face into a database or something.” And I was like, Is that how that works? So I definitely was freaking out, wondering if I signed anything, but I’m 99.9 percent sure I didn’t. It could be pure coincidence, or something like that could have happened, but it’s a world I know absolutely nothing about, and I’m scared of it.
Especially because this—I don’t even know what to call her—this character, Tilly, has agents who want to work with it. There’s a possibility we see this A.I. actress in film. How does that feel, knowing you two look so similar?
To be honest, it’s super disturbing and scary. Because I don’t know what could come of it. I think it is definitely something that people are gonna have to start worrying about because it is not just a me problem anymore. It really will start affecting all artists and all creatives, and I feel like it undermines the true creative process. You know, I’d rather be the one acting. Put me in a rom-com!
Do you have any idea how you’re going to approach this moving forward?
I think I’m just gonna take it day by day. I’m gonna listen to my lawyer and my managers, and I do want to spread the word about this. I don’t think A.I. belongs in the creative industry. There’s so many cons to it—they totally outweigh any of the possible pros.
