Tilly Norwood is Hollywood’s newest rising star. She’s talented, versatile and completely fake. Of course she’s fake, I hear you say, she’s a Hollywood actress. But Norwood is entirely fake. She isn’t a person at all, but a digital creation generated by artificial intelligence.
Assuming she was trained on real performances, Norwood could rival Katharine Hepburn or Meryl Streep and even outshine them. Throw in some Julia Roberts, Nicole Kidman and Kate Winslet while you’re at it. Because she’s AI, Norwood can learn endlessly, evolving beyond our human experience. The company that created Norwood now wants to sign her to a talent agency to represent her in acting roles. The backlash from human actors is understandable. Norwood isn’t just competition; she’s a threat to their livelihoods.
And Hollywood isn’t the only field at risk. I’m “Of Counsel” at a law firm in Valencia, and I can’t help but speculate on what happens when AI walks into our offices. How many new associates will the firm need to hire if technology can create a digital lawyer who performs all tasks except appearing in court? Let’s call her Tilly Norwood, Esq. She could be programmed with what we know of Cicero’s eloquence, Johnny Cochran’s strategy, and even the integrity of the fictional lawyer Atticus Finch. I have a feeling that our clients would love her, much like the audiences who would watch Tilly Norwood, the “actress.”
I remember being scared as a child watching the original “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” movie. But my fears of alien pea pods growing fake humans were misplaced. Human replacements aren’t going to come from outer space; they are being created right here, right now, by us.
Philip Wasserman
Stevenson Ranch
