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.»

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Technologies

Apple’s New Smart Home Display Delayed Until Fall Over Siri Issues

It has been nearly a year and a half since the company announced the AI-powered product.

Your home could get smarter with Apple’s Siri, but it will have to wait a few more months. Bloomberg reported the iPad-shaped AI home hub won’t be ready until September, several months after the company was hoping to launch it this spring. Apple engineers first need to complete work on a new and improved Siri assistant for the home device, code-named J490, according to Bloomberg.

Apple was hoping to release J490 this month, along with a slew of other new devices, including the iPhone 17e, MacBook Neo, MacBook Air M5, new Pro models, and iPad Air M4. Apple first teased the smart home display in November 2024.

A representative for Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Siri is Apple’s virtual assistant that uses voice recognition and AI to fulfill a variety of tasks and commands, along with intriguing uses. You might use Siri to find your iPhone — «Hey Siri, where are you?» — or to hear the weather forecast — «Siri, what will the weather be today?» Siri is available on iPhones, MacBooks and iPads. It was launched in 2011 as a feature of the iPhone 4S.

As CNET reported last month, Apple engineers have struggled to push the upgraded Siri assistant out the door. It isn’t fast enough, gets confused by complex commands and doesn’t interact well with other Apple AI models. The company is also wrestling with how much personal data to access to inform the AI, and the new Siri is not yet able to complete in-app tasks, such as finding a photo and posting it to socials, all with one command.

It has been nearly two years since Apple announced that it would give Siri a major upgrade. In the meantime, competitors like Alexa Plus and Gemini for Home have entered the marketplace.

Tech tester Jon Rettinger, whose YouTube channel has 1.66 million subscribers, says the repeated delays in upgrading Siri can «erode» confidence in Apple’s ability to keep up in the AI race.

«Apple as a whole is still one of the strongest companies on the planet. But their AI play is clearly the weakest link in an otherwise very strong chain,» Rettinger told CNET.

Rettinger said he has had issues getting Siri to complete basic commands, such as setting two alarms at the same time, and that it’s a bit of «a mess» right now.

«Having said that, the iPhone has such massive market penetration that I’m not sure it will actually matter in the end. Which is kind of wild when you think about it,» Rettinger said.

Facial recognition for residents

The hardware for the forthcoming smart home display has already been finished. It resembles an iPad and can be either attached to a wall or rest on a half-domed-shaped base, the Bloomberg report said.

The device will be equipped with facial recognition, so when residents walk up to it, they will be shown personalized data such as music preferences, news headlines, appointments, reminders, tasks and so on.

The screen interface will include a bunch of circular app icons, similar to the display on an Apple Watch. The Bloomberg report said the smart home display will be the first of several home devices by Apple. Future products include a tabletop robotic limb with a 9-inch screen, a smart security camera and a Face ID-enabled smart doorbell.