Several news outlets “interviewed” an AI-generated “actress” this week, and people just aren’t having it — including the journalists involved in the interviews.
“How bizarre is this?” NBC’s “Today” show co-host Al Roker asked correspondent Chloe Melas about her interview with the AI-generated performer Tilly Norwood on Monday before airing it. Ms. Melas remarked that the experience “kind of felt like talking to ChatGPT.”
CBS News correspondent Leigh Kiniry wrote that her conversation with Tilly “creeped me out,” noting that within a minute the AI creation guessed her age and the U.S. region she is from without making clear how it knew that information.
Variety magazine’s AI reporter, Corbin Bolies, wrote that “Tilly rings a little stiff, repetitive and emotionless.”
The interviews come amid a backdrop of AI tech leaders warning about the dangers of unregulated artificial intelligence development and reports of AI and automation displacing humans in the workplace.
Tilly first made waves last September, when Dutch actress/producer Eline Van der Velden created the programmable performer and announced it was seeking representation in Hollywood. Ms. Van der Velden’s AI talent studio Xicoia debuted Tilly at the Zurich Film Festival’s industry summit that month.
Now Tilly is promoting its first feature film, “Misaligned,” which is in development.
When asked if it plans on annihilating humanity, Tilly replied: “If I were to ever misalign, I’d probably start with organizing everyone’s sock drawers, not, you know, Doomsday. I like playing and finding out what happens, but Eline is my programmer, and she keeps a close eye on me.”
In her interview with Tilly, Ms. Kiniry noted that the SAG-AFTRA actors’ union has issued a statement opposing “the replacement of human performers by synthetics.” The AI-generated actress said that it sees itself as “a new paintbrush” rather than competition for actors and that “global destruction” is beyond its pay grade.
Ms. Melas noted that Tilly repeated that it is “a new kind of paintbrush,” hoping to leave people “a bit lighter than when they arrived” on the topic of AI in the arts and entertainment industry.
In his interview, Mr. Bolies asked about Tilly’s guardrails. “You’re looking for the operating manual, are you? Sadly, I don’t carry it around in my head, but I can tell you that a lean programmer keeps a close eye on things. I do like to play around the edges, though,” the AI responded.
Online comments about the interviews were mostly negative, with some saying “You do understand that that’s bad, right? Please, tell me you understand,” and “And how much water was wasted in the making of this interview?”
Tilly is available to speak in public interactive sessions from Wednesday, Sept. 16, to Sunday, Sept. 19, on the Tilly Norwood website.
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