Does the hype and outrage over AI-generated actor Tilly Norwood represent a looming threat to the film industry, or have we fallen for yet another AI gimmick constructed by PR? Derek McArthur figures it out.

The next big star on our screens and on top of everyone’s lips might just be hot newcomer Tilly Norwood, an actress who, reportedly, has all the top agents in Hollywood in fevered pursuit.

It appears she’s on her come up, starring in her own viral internet comedy sketch and taking auditions all around town. There is a slight problem though, she doesn’t actually exist .

Norwood is an AI-generated creation of production company Particle 6. The company thinks she could be the next Scarlett Johansson, but without all the hassle of paying a Johansson-level star the millions they can easily demand.

What her very existence portends for the future of a, let’s face it, stale film industry is anyone’s guess. The business side loves the prospect. The actors and Hollywood’s influential unions, not so much. Is she a visionary prototype or merely another digital ghost, destined to haunt the periphery of culture before fading into obscurity like so many AI gimmicks before her?

The sheer velocity of these announcements has left us all with a fatigue for the future. It’s becoming impossible to distinguish the importance of anything from PR, where a single........

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