Tilly Norwood’s creator may have underestimated the impact of developing an artificially intelligent actress, but assured that she’s not meant to take the jobs of “real actors.”
Norwood was back in the news Friday as creator Eline Van der Velden attempted to quell concerns that the “AI actress” will not take roles away from real actors. Velden’s statement came Friday amid massive pushback to the new tech and Norwood’s role within it, and the Xicoia CEO said that she understands why people would need time to come around.
“As an artist, you always try to resonate something that will provoke interest and thought in the audience, and so I underestimated the effect that Tilly would have on the world,” Van der Velden told the AP in a video interview. “In the end, as an artist, that was the effect I was trying to have. I was trying to show the world where the tech is at.”
In the video, Van der Velden breaks down her intent with the creation of Norwood — which launched to controversy in September as artificial intelligence becomes an ever-present concern in Hollywood. Van der Velden used the interview with AP News to insist that she does not intend to have Norwood take opportunities away from real actors. In fact, she claims that her company turned down “any roles in the traditional film and TV industry.”
The comment came in the wake of multiple talent agencies vowing to not represent Norwood after Van der Velden claimed earlier this year that she would be signed “in the coming months.”
Van der Velden announced that she and her company are searching for new employees to poach from the “traditional film and television industry” to assist in Norwood’s operation. In the end, she likened AI to its own “genre,” one that is still in its early days.
“We like people with experience and bringing that experience into this new art form with AI,” she told AP. “We’re looking for comedy writers, we’re looking for production coordinators, and we’ve given them all really funky job names because it’s a whole new era of creativity.”
Watch the creator’s interview in the video above.
