Technologies

AI Actress Tilly Norwood Draws Controversy From Hollywood as Creators Double Down

First, they created an AI actress. Now they’ve created an entire AI talent agency.

Just when you thought Hollywood couldn’t get any weirder, an AI-generated actor now has a real agent in a bid to compete for jobs.

Tilly Norwood is a completely digital actress whose creator, Particle6, is catching serious heat for trying to get her representation. Eline Van der Velden, the CEO of the AI company behind Tilly, tried to play it cool, calling the creation «a piece of art» and not a replacement for human beings.

Norwood has appeared in a YouTube video from Particle6, and her Instagram account currently has nearly 60,000 followers. A parody account with a similar name has also popped up.

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Unsurprisingly, actual Hollywood actors are not amused. As reported by Variety, stars are furious at the idea of competing with an algorithm. Actress Melissa Barrera put it bluntly on her Instagram account, telling any agent who signs an AI tool to «read the room» and that she hopes their human clients «drop their a$$.»

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.

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.

In a social media post, Van Der Velden said, «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.»

Technologies

Starlink Extends ‘Free’ Hurricane Relief Internet to the End of the Year

Technologies

Get Ready for A Minecraft Movie 2: A Sequel Film Is in the Works

Fans and chicken jockeys alike will have to wait until 2027 to return to the world of the popular game.

Stay in practice, chicken jockeys. Warner Bros. has greenlit a sequel to A Minecraft Movie, according to Variety. The follow-up to the hit live-action video game adaptation will premiere in theaters on July 23, 2027.

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Plot details and casting are still unknown. The X account for Minecraft teased the news with a poster and the caption «building terrain.» The director of the first Minecraft movie, Jared Hess, will direct and co-write the screenplay for Minecraft 2 with Chris Galletta, according to Variety.

Building terrain. See you in theaters July 23 2027. #Minecraft pic.twitter.com/VqJSknMh0I

— Minecraft (@Minecraft) October 9, 2025

The first Minecraft film debuted in theaters in March and started streaming on HBO Max, then called Max, in June. A Minecraft Movie grossed $957 million globally, according to Box Office Mojo. Block Party screenings, where fans were encouraged to shout out popular lines, were held after certain scenes from the film — including one featuring a Chicken Jockey — went viral.

The story follows protagonists who end up in a world different from their own that thrives on imagination. The movie’s star-studded cast includes Jason Momoa, Jack Black, Emma Myers, Danielle Brooks, Sebastian Hansen and Jennifer Coolidge.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Oct. 10 #586

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Oct. 10, No. 586.

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

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle might make you hungry. Some of the answers are a bit tough to unscramble, so if you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: I’m a ladle hungry

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Spoon it up

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints, but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

RATE, GOUT, TOUT, LONE, WETS, GATE, PLANE, MINE, GAMINE

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers: