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SAG-AFTRA Condemns AI-Generated ‘Actress’ Tilly Norwood, Calling It a Threat to Human Creativity

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The launch of an AI-generated “actress” named Tilly Norwood has sparked an uproar in Hollywood, with the SAG-AFTRA performers’ union condemning her creation as a step toward replacing human talent with “synthetics.”

Tilly Norwood was introduced on Saturday at the Zurich Summit, a film industry conference, through a 20-second video parody about making an AI-generated TV show. The photorealistic character—depicted as a young British actress with brown hair and a social media presence—was created by Eline Van der Velden, a Dutch actor and producer who runs the London-based AI studio Particle6.

Van der Velden told attendees that after initial skepticism, Hollywood agents and executives are showing interest and hinted at an upcoming deal with a major talent agency.

The debut comes amid deepening anxiety in the entertainment world about AI’s growing role in film and television. Concerns about studios using digital replicas of performers were central to SAG-AFTRA’s recent contract negotiations with streamers and major studios.

“Creativity is, and should remain, human-centered,” SAG-AFTRA said in a statement Tuesday. “The union is opposed to the replacement of human performers by synthetics.” It stressed that Tilly Norwood “is not an actor” but a computer-generated creation “trained on the work of countless professional performers—without permission or compensation.”

Van der Velden defended the project, describing Tilly as “a creative work—a piece of art” meant to provoke discussion, not replace human performers.

Still, her earlier comments—saying she wanted Tilly to become “the next Scarlett Johansson or Natalie Portman”—have fueled fears among actors and filmmakers.

Experts, however, remain skeptical. Yves Bergquist, director of AI in media at the University of Southern California’s Entertainment Technology Center, dismissed the hype as “nonsense.” He said there is “zero interest from serious people in Hollywood” in fully synthetic stars, adding, “Scarlett Johansson has a fan base. Scarlett Johansson is a person.”

Tilly Norwood may not be human—but she has reignited a very human debate over art, identity, and the future of performance.

SAG-AFTRA passes AI-focused agreement with video game studios, ending strike

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Hollywood video game actors have ratified a new contract with major studios, introducing industry-first protections around artificial intelligence and concluding a nearly year-long labor standoff. The SAG-AFTRA union announced the deal on Wednesday, marking a significant moment for labor rights in the gaming industry as AI continues to reshape creative work.

“AI was the centerpiece of our proposal package,” said Sarah Elmaleh, a negotiation committee member and voice actor known for her roles in Final Fantasy XV and Call of Duty: Black Ops III. The agreement ensures actors have consent and disclosure rights when AI is used to replicate their voice or likeness. Notably, it also allows performers to suspend AI use consent during strikes — a safeguard previously not enshrined in contracts.

The deal was approved by a resounding 95.04% majority of SAG-AFTRA members and applies to key studios, including Activision, Electronic Arts, Disney Character Voices, WB Games, Take-Two, and Insomniac Games, among others.

SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher called the agreement a milestone: “This deal achieves important progress around AI protections, and progress is the name of the game.” For studios, the deal brings “historic wage increases, industry-leading A.I. protections, and enhanced health and safety measures,” according to spokesperson Audrey Cooling.

Along with AI clauses, the Interactive Media Agreement addresses the physical demands of motion capture work, providing on-set medics for high-risk scenes. Elmaleh emphasized the need to support not only vocal performers but those who “put their bodies on the line” to bring digital characters to life.

The new contract includes a 15.17% immediate wage increase, with further 3% raises scheduled for November 2025, 2026, and 2027.

This strike followed failed negotiations that began in 2023, overlapping with the larger wave of labor unrest in Hollywood, including the WGA and actors’ strikes. The broader debate around AI usage has also led to growing support for the NO FAKES Act, a bipartisan bill aimed at banning unauthorized AI-generated replicas of a person’s voice or image. Backed by SAG-AFTRA, Disney, the Recording Academy, and the Motion Picture Association, the bill is still under consideration in Congress.

The newly ratified agreement represents a landmark moment in establishing ethical AI standards in entertainment and may serve as a blueprint for other sectors facing similar technological challenges.