Sean Astin Says The SAG-AFTRA Union Will Address AI Actress Tilly Norwood

TV & Film

Oct 3

Recently elected leader of SAG-AFTRA, Sean Astin, sat in a chair. The images fade to reveal AI actress Tilly Norwood, dressed smartly for a red carpet event. — Image Source: CultureSlate

AI has once again sparked discussion in Hollywood, with the topic this time being AI performer Tilly Norwood. Created by Particle6 Group, the AI creation has appeared in various social media content to advertise what is possible with AI actors. When talent agencies stated interest in representing Norwood for work in TV and film, outcry sparked from many actors, including Emily Blunt and Lukas Gage. Now, the recently elected leader of SAG-AFTRA, Sean Astin, has revealed that the union intends to challenge this latest use of AI in the media industry.

“I appreciate that this story has captured the imagination of people, but it’s not the first shoe to drop,” Astin said. “We had a 118-day strike, fighting very hard to put AI provisions and protections in place. The teams at SAG-AFTRA have been in this fight for longer than people might realize. As technology continues to advance at light speed, we’re going to meet the challenge.”

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Astin has said that talks will be held with the Association of Talent Agents, who represent agencies such as CAA, WME, and UTA. He stated, “We look forward to a healthy, constructive conversation with agencies to make sure that we continue to help each other. We performers rely on our agent’s judgement and their good work and their sincerity, and they rely on our talent and marketability. The real issue at play is how our work is exhibited and what kinds of permissions and compensations we get for its use.”

The topic of Tilly Norwood brought a statement from SAG-AFTRA a number of days ago, condemning this latest use of AI in the media industry. “It’s a character generated by a computer program that was trained on the work of countless professional performers – without permission or compensation. It has no life experience to draw from, no emotion and, from what we’ve seen, audiences aren’t interested in watching computer-generated content untethered from the human experience.”

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