Hollywood has found itself at the center of a heated debate once again- not over casting decisions or box office numbers, but over artificial intelligence.
The latest flashpoint is Tilly Norwood, a computer-generated actor developed by the London-based AI talent studio Xicoia.
With her realistic features, social media presence, and growing popularity, Norwood appears poised for stardom. Yet, unlike her human peers, she doesn’t exist.
The announcement that Norwood would soon be signed by a major talent agency has triggered an outpouring of outrage from Hollywood actors, filmmakers, and union representatives, reigniting deep-seated fears about AI’s encroachment on creative professions.
A Virtual Creation with Real-World Buzz
Tilly Norwood’s creator, Dutch actor and entrepreneur Eline Van der Velden, founded Xicoia with the vision of blending creativity and technology.
Through advanced AI techniques, her company generates lifelike “digital talent” capable of acting, modeling, and engaging on social media.
Norwood, with her brunette hair and relatable “young Londoner” persona, has already attracted more than 44,000 followers on Instagram.
Her page portrays her as an aspiring actress who loves shopping and iced coffee, featuring cinematic visuals of her running through collapsing cities or battling monsters- all AI-generated.
Van der Velden, also the founder of the AI production company Particle6, described Norwood as “a creative work- a piece of art.”
In her defense of the project, she emphasized that AI is “not a replacement for people, but a new tool — a new paintbrush,” likening it to how animation, puppetry, and CGI have expanded storytelling possibilities without erasing live acting.
Hollywood’s Fierce Backlash
Despite Van der Velden’s artistic framing, Hollywood professionals reacted with alarm.
Prominent figures including Emily Blunt , Whoopi Goldberg , and Natasha Lyonne publicly expressed concern, describing the development as “scary,” “terrifying,” and “deeply misguided.”
The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) quickly weighed in with a strong condemnation.
The union accused AI developers of “using stolen performances” from countless actors to train their models without permission or compensation.
Tilly Norwood (Credit: YouTube)
SAG-AFTRA President Sean Astin voiced the union’s frustration in an interview, asserting that AI avatars like Norwood are built using real performers’ work — effectively exploiting decades of creative labor.
“They are taking our professional members’ work that has been created, sometimes over generations, without permission, without compensation, and without acknowledgment,” Astin said.
He added that while the union welcomes new technology, its members must have the right to consent and be compensated for its use.
“We want to allow our members to benefit from new technologies. They just need to know that it’s happening. They need to give permission for it, and they need to be bargained with.”
A Recurring Fear: AI and the Future of Acting
The controversy strikes a familiar nerve in Hollywood. Just two years ago, SAG-AFTRA staged a 118-day strike, one of the longest in its history, largely over concerns about the use of AI in the entertainment industry.
Actors feared that studios could use AI to clone their likenesses or voices indefinitely, replacing them in future productions without fair pay or control.
That strike led to new contractual protections, but the Tilly Norwood incident suggests that the industry’s anxieties are far from resolved.
For many, Norwood represents what they most feared: a non-human “actor” potentially displacing real performers in an industry already strained by automation and streaming disruptions.
Some actors have gone as far as calling for a boycott of any talent agency that chooses to represent Norwood.
Actor Melissa Barrera, known for In the Heights, posted on Instagram,
“Read the room, how gross,” criticizing agencies for blurring ethical lines in the pursuit of profit.
Astin also hinted that the union may take further action, stating,
“Our members reserve the right to not be in business with representatives who are operating in an unfair conflict of interest, who are operating in bad faith.”
AI in Entertainment: Between Innovation and Exploitation
The Tilly Norwood debate doesn’t exist in isolation. AI-generated media has been rapidly expanding into every corner of entertainment.
In 2024, the Japanese digital pop star Hatsune Miku performed live at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, while AI models appeared in Vogue and brand campaigns for Guess.
Meanwhile, OpenAI is providing the tools for Critterz, a forthcoming AI-animated film touted as potentially “AI’s Toy Story moment.”
However, the proliferation of AI-created art has also led to an avalanche of legal battles.
Major studios- Disney, Universal, and Warner Bros. Discovery- have filed lawsuits against AI companies accused of using copyrighted material without consent.
The lawsuits underscore a growing pushback from creators seeking to protect their intellectual property from algorithmic exploitation.
A Divided Industry: Innovation or Invasion?
Van der Velden insists that Norwood’s creation is a natural evolution of technology in storytelling, not a threat to human actors.
At a recent industry panel in Zurich, she proudly declared,
“When we first launched her, people were like, ‘That’s not going to happen.’ And now, we’re going to announce which agency will represent her. It’s all changing, and everyone is starting to see the light.”
But many in Hollywood see a darker picture. To them, Norwood isn’t a symbol of progress — she’s a warning.
The idea that a synthetic personality, trained on the labor of countless real performers, could be signed, managed, and marketed as a legitimate actor feels like a betrayal of creative integrity.
The tension highlights a larger cultural question: Where should the line be drawn between artistic innovation and the replacement of human expression?
The Human Element at Stake
As AI technology continues to blur the boundaries between human and machine creativity, the Tilly Norwood controversy underscores Hollywood’s ongoing identity crisis.
The industry that once prided itself on human imagination and performance now grapples with algorithms that can simulate both.
For now, Norwood may be just pixels on a screen- but the uproar she has caused reveals something deeply human: a fear that authenticity, emotion, and artistry might one day be outperformed by code.
Whether Tilly Norwood is remembered as a trailblazer or a turning point will depend on how Hollywood chooses to balance technological innovation with ethical responsibility in the years ahead.
As spooky season arrives, streaming services are offering plenty of chilling content for horror enthusiasts, and Netflix is no exception.
Among its latest offerings is True Haunting, a series exploring supernatural events across two different cases.
While it presents itself as a documentary-style horror show, viewers have been left wondering: how much of it is real, and how much is dramatized for entertainment?
The Concept of ‘True Haunting’
True Haunting comes from the creative team behind James Wan’s famed horror franchise, The Conjuring.
The series is inspired by real-life paranormal incidents and hauntings, which are reenacted on screen alongside first-person interviews.
This combination allows the show to walk the line between documentary and dramatization, giving audiences a glimpse into the real-life events that inspired the supernatural terror.
According to Soap Central, the reenactments help viewers experience the horror as those involved did, making it a must-watch for fans of the genre.
Case One: Erie Hall
The first case, titled Erie Hall, spans three episodes and recounts the experiences of Chris Di Cesare, who moved into Erie Hall at SUNY Geneseo in New York in 1985.
Soon after settling in, Chris began hearing voices calling his name.
Initially dismissed as imagined, the phenomena escalated to noticeable movement of objects in his dorm room, which his roommate also observed.
The events culminated with the appearance of a ghostly teenage boy and required the intervention of a priest for an exorcism.
The series details each terrifying occurrence, drawing viewers into the chilling atmosphere of the haunted dormitory.
Erie Hall serves as an example of how ordinary settings can become sites of extraordinary fear when the supernatural is involved.
Case Two: This House Murdered Me
The second case, This House Murdered Me, is a two-part story set in 2003. It follows Matt and April Wilson and their two children, who move into a 100-year-old home in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Shortly after moving in, the family discovers a hidden room, and paranormal disturbances quickly begin to escalate.
The series depicts eerie occurrences such as doors slamming on their own, ghostly children calling for their mother, and Matt witnessing an unexplained figure braiding his wife April’s hair.
The family seeks help from paranormal experts to investigate the haunting, blending dramatic reenactments with interviews to reconstruct their terrifying experiences.
How ‘True Haunting’ Stands Out?
Unlike purely fictional horror shows, True Haunting emphasizes that its stories are rooted in real events.
The reenactments, combined with the firsthand accounts, allow the audience to explore the terror and suspense as experienced by the people involved.
This format sets it apart from typical horror series, offering a unique mix of reality-based storytelling and cinematic horror.
Other Must-Watch Horror Series on Netflix
True Haunting joins a growing roster of true-crime and horror content that has captivated viewers.
For instance, Ryan Murphy’s Monster: The Ed Gein Story reached the top spot on Netflix shortly after its release.
The series documents the life of infamous serial killer Ed Gein, who inspired numerous cinematic villains, including Norman Bates from Psycho and Leatherface from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
Actor Charlie Hunnam, who portrays Ed Gein, described how he accessed the only known recording of Gein, made two days after his arrest.
This recording allowed Hunnam to replicate Gein’s speech patterns, tone, and inflection, giving viewers a chillingly authentic portrayal of the notorious killer.
Netflix’s True Haunting offers a unique blend of real-life supernatural stories and dramatic reenactments, providing horror fans with both thrills and authenticity.
By focusing on firsthand accounts and reenacting events as they reportedly occurred, the series delivers a gripping and immersive experience.
Alongside other true-crime and horror content, it’s a must-watch for anyone looking to get into the spooky season spirit.
