Technologies

Creators of AI Actress Tilly Norwood Respond to Backlash, Create New Talent Agency

The AI tools company Particle6 is spinning off a talent agency for its AI creations, including Norwood.

Should AI actors have agents? The head of an AI tools company has responded to backlash over one of its creations, an AI actor dubbed Tilly Norwood. In a post on the Tilly Norwood Instagram account, Eline Van Der Velden, the CEO of AI production company Particle6, said that Norwood is «not a replacement for a human being, but a creative work — a piece of art.»

As reported by Variety, several Hollywood actors responded angrily to the idea that Tilly Norwood might be represented by an agent and put into competition with live actors for roles.

«Hope all actors repped by the agent that does this, drop their a$$,» actor Melissa Barrera wrote on her Instagram account. «How gross, read the room.»

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Some say using an AI actor for traditional roles violates labor agreements with acting guilds.

The entertainment industry is battling over whether AI tools will replace humans. AI has been a major issue in acting strikes, and earlier this year, a group of Hollywood actors petitioned to outlaw AI training on copyrighted work.

In the social media post, Van Der Velden continued, «I also believe AI characters should be judged as part of their own genre, on their own merits, rather than compared directly with human actors.»

Particle6 has been criticized over the issue of traditional Hollywood agent representation for AI creations. Recently, Van Der Velden announced that the company is spinning off an agency for AI creations called Xicoia. But that doesn’t mean the main agency would stop providing traditional representation for its AI creations.

«Xicoia creates and manages the AI talent (think IP management) but they could also license out for mainstream representation, where required/requested and where appropriate,» a spokesperson for Particle6 told CNET.

Norwood has appeared in a YouTube video from Particle6, and her Instagram account currently has nearly 11,000 followers. A parody account with a similar name has also popped up.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Tuesday, Sept. 30

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Sept. 30.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Is it just me, or was today’s Mini Crossword especially hard? I thought I was never going to solve it, and I’m used to this puzzle being a nice easy one! Possible SPOILER: I just organized my 40th high school class reunion this summer, and I swear I have never used the related word that is the answer to 2-Down before. Need answers? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Exclamation made with a shiver
Answer: BRR

4A clue: Putt ‘er there!
Answer: GREEN

6A clue: «___ gotta be kidding me!»
Answer: YOUVE

7A clue: Negative attribute, so to speak
Answer: MINUS

8A clue: Got some shut-eye
Answer: SLEPT

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Oven button with a «high» or «low» setting
Answer: BROIL

2D clue: Get together again, like alumni
Answer: REUNE (Editor’s note: Whaaaaaa? How is this a word? It’s even in the dictionary! I realize REUNITE did not fit, but…)

3D clue: Make go «Vroom!»
Answer: REVUP

4D clue: Spots where you might spot some spotters
Answer: GYM

5D clue: Egg container
Answer: NEST

Technologies

AI Can Now Help You Create Top-Grade Word Documents and Excel Spreadsheets

Microsoft adds a whole new vibe to its 1980s-era software pioneers.

I’m not a wizard with Word and Excel. Are you? Do we know what to do with all those many menus at the top? Now, thanks to AI, maybe we don’t need to.

Microsoft has added AI to those software programs of yesteryear with Agent Mode for both Word and Excel. Powered by Microsoft 365 Copilot, Agent Mode can help anyone — even those with little experience — create high-quality, professional-grade documents and spreadsheets. Microsoft will add Agent Mode to PowerPoint at a future date.

Microsoft has also added Office Agent to Copilot chat to help create PowerPoint presentations and Word documents. Functionality for Excel will be added later.

Vibe coding

It’s a new take on the vibe coding wave, whereby developers can create software with natural language prompts instead of writing lines of code by hand, said Sumit Chauhan, corporate vice president of Microsoft’s Office product group.

«Get started with a simple prompt and then work iteratively with Copilot — steering it as it orchestrates multi-step tasks to deliver high-quality Office documents, spreadsheets, and presentations,» Chauhan said in a statement. «It’s the new pattern of work for human-agent collaboration.»

How Agent Mode works

Say you want to create a household budget in Excel. Tell Agent Mode to create budget categories such as rent or mortgage, groceries, utilities, gas and entertainment. You can have Agent Mode create formulas to let you know if you’re over and under budget, among other tasks. Agent Mode in Excel could also help you create a financial analysis for a business.

In Word, Agent Mode can help you create or refine a limitless number of documents, such as revising and cleaning up your resume, composing a holiday letter, or writing a progress report or executive summary for a business.

Microsoft says Agent Mode for Word «handles the heavy lifting: drafting content, suggesting refinements, and asking clarifying questions. » The consumer works with Agent Mode to keep refining and honing the document to the finished product.

Office Agent in Copilot chat 

You can start creating a PowerPoint from Copilot chat, using a prompt such as «Create a 10-slide PowerPoint deck of the most popular tech products in the US.» The Office Agent will then work with you to clarify intent, such as visual theme and target audience, refine the presentation, and determine how much research is needed.

How to begin

Agent Mode in Copilot for Excel and Word is now available in the Frontier program for Microsoft 365 Copilot licensed customers and Microsoft 365 Personal or Family subscribers.

Agent Mode is available in Excel on the web and will be coming soon to the desktop. To try it, install the Excel Labs add-in and choose Agent Mode. Agent Mode works in Word on the web, with desktop coming soon. Get started here.

Office Agent is available in the Frontier program for Microsoft 365 Personal or Family subscribers in the US. Office Agent works in Microsoft 365 Copilot on the web in English. Get started here.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Sept. 30, #372

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle No. 372 for Tuesday, Sept. 30.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition has a category playing off the fact that many athletes have last names that are also words with other meanings. If you recognized a few of those, you probably did well. If you’re struggling but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Pass the Cracker Jack.

Green group hint: Throw it in there.

Blue group hint: Star players.

Purple group hint: Airplanes do this.