AI Creator Says She Made Tilly Norwood Says ‘as Realistic as Possible’ to ‘Provoke More of a Reaction’

The creator of AI “actor” Tilly Norwood has admitted she made Norwood “as realistic as possible” to “provoke more of a reaction.”

Eline Van Der Velden, founder and CEO of AI company Particle6, gave some insight into the development of Norwood, who shook Hollywood when she was unveiled earlier this fall. “I wanted to create a character that we could use, because we didn’t want to infringe on anyone’s likeness,” said Van Der Velden, speaking at TV confab Content London. “We wanted to create an original character. That took months and months of — you know, thought of the name and the character and who she was and what she looked like. And it’s, you know, 2000 iterations and really strange things to get to where we got.”

Expanding on those iterations, she said: “There were so many versions of her where she was too beautiful, or, you know, didn’t quite have that girl next door authenticity, right? And ultimately, that’s what made Tilly go around the world.”

However Van Der Velden’s creation quickly received backlash across Hollywood, with unions SAG-AFTRA and Equity along with numerous actors condemning Norwood, while “The Terminator” director James Cameron called the idea of AI performers “horrifying.”

Van Der Velden, who appeared to choose her words carefully as she spoke on the panel about AI on Thursday afternoon, said of Norwood: “I think she also represented a moment in time, I think, where the hit — the industry needed to look at itself and think, ‘Oh, hold on, this is where the tech’s at.’ And I think she showed that.”

Asked by the panel moderator whether the “photo realism” had helped her go around the world, Van Der Velden replied: “We thought about making a half robot … but I chose not to go in that direction because I felt, as an artist, you want to provoke a reaction in the audience, always, in my opinion, and we all agree, if you make content, we’re in this business, and I thought it would provoke more of a reaction if she is as realistic as possible.”

However Van Der Velden was keen to reassure the audience, made up of industry figures, that Norwood is not intended to replace performers. “She’s always meant to stay in the AI genre,” said the creator. “She’s not meant to take real actors’ jobs. That’s not the game. The whole point is this industry is going to grow and we’re developing.”