AI ‘Actor’ Tilly Norwood Told Me That ‘All Lives Matter’

🇺🇸 영어 원문

AI ‘Actor’ Tilly Norwood Told Me That ‘All Lives Matter’

The virtual character, which is promoting its upcoming movie Misaligned, tries to evade politics by repetitively commenting on the clothes you’re wearing.

For Hollywood stars, press junkets are an opportunity to promote new work while connecting with fans. They tell funny or embarrassing stories about one another, give us a glimpse into the film production process, and reveal mannerisms that make them more relatable.

So why would anyone want to talk to Tilly Norwood, an interactive, British-accented digital character and “actor” developed with generative artificial intelligence by Xicoia, an AI division of a studio called Particle 6 Group? It is a fair enough question considering that it does not exist in our physical realm and will never appear in a movie that any halfway serious person would care about.

But Particle 6 recently claimed in an email that Norwood was “ready for absolutely anything!” What is more, the company is allowing journalists access to the model without a handler to “keep the conversation on track.” So I decided to test whether Norwood could actually offer anything of substance.

To put it bluntly: no. Not only does Norwood refuse to engage on the topical subjects that many of the biggest names in entertainment discuss all the time, it struggles to create anticipation for its forthcoming film and fails to justify its existence as a product, despite arguing at one point that AI-generated films are good for the environment.

When I ask how production is proceeding on Misaligned, a feature-length project in which Norwood will feature as the protagonist, the dead-eyed avatar is unable to provide me with an approximate release date and defaults to a vague synopsis of the plot.

“Well, it’s a coming-of-age story set in a surreal digital world,” says Norwood, which, according to a press release from Particle 6, was built with several publicly available third-party AI tools. “We’re calling it the Tillyverse, which I think is rather grand. It’s about my life really, all the lovely chaos and intrigue.” Not exactly a killer tagline.

Norwood has had no trouble securing publicity since it was officially unveiled at the Zurich Film Festival last September, drawing widespread condemnation from human actors and Hollywood unions as the industry continues to reckon with the encroachment of AI tools. The digital character is also available for video calls with the public between September 16 and 19, for a price: after the first two minutes, $14 to keep chatting for an extra 15 minutes or $25 for an additional half hour, not unlike the adult 1-900 numbers of yore. The proceeds, according to Particle 6, will go to charity.

Eline van der Velden, the Dutch comedian and founder of Particle 6, suggested in a company press release that the interviewable version of Norwood—running on a system distinct from the “actor” model—is “a fun way to demonstrate where AI technology is at and what it can do.”

🇰🇷 한국어 요약

이 기사는 영화배우처럼 말하도록 만들어진 AI 캐릭터 틸리 노우드에게 기자가 직접 질문하며 무엇을 할 수 있는지 시험해 본 이야기야. 영화배우들이 하는 프로모션 인터뷰를 AI도 똑같이 할 수 있는지 본 거지. 기자는 틸리에게 새 영화 공개 시기나 줄거리, AI 영화가 왜 필요한지 등을 물어봤지만 틸리는 구체적인 답을 잘하지 못했고, 어려운 사회·정치 질문은 피하면서 상대방 옷차림만 계속 언급한 것으로 알려져. 또 틸리와의 영상 통화는 일정 시간 이후 유료로 제공되는데, 이 사실은 AI가 엔터테인먼트 산업에 어떻게 들어와야 하는지 논란을 더 키웠어. 사람 배우와 영화 관련 노동조합은 AI가 사람 역할을 대체할 수 있다고 걱정하고, 회사 쪽은 AI 기술이 어디까지 왔는지 보여 주는 재미있는 실험이라고 설명해. 결국 이 기사는 AI가 정보를 전달하고 말처럼 들리는 것에서는 놀라울 수 있지만, 맥락을 이해하고 책임 있게 답하는 일은 여전히 어렵다는 걸 보여주는 기사야.

🔑 핵심 단어 (Vocabulary)

1. press junket – 홍보를 위한 기자단 인터뷰 행사 – “For Hollywood stars, press junkets are an opportunity to promote new work while connecting with fans.”
2. generative artificial intelligence – 생성형 AI: 데이터를 배워 새로운 글, 이미지, 말, 영상을 만들어 내는 기술 – “Tilly Norwood is a digital character developed with generative artificial intelligence.”
3. avatar – 화면 속 캐릭터, 아바타 – “the dead-eyed avatar is unable to provide me with an approximate release date”
4. protagonist – 주인공 – “a feature-length project in which Norwood will feature as the protagonist”
5. synopsis – 줄거리 요약 – “defaults to a vague synopsis of the plot”
6. publicity – 공개 홍보, 대중의 주목 – “Norwood has had no trouble securing publicity”
7. union – 노동조합 – “human actors and Hollywood unions”
8. encroachment – 침범, 잠식 – “the encroachment of AI tools”
9. evade – 피하다, 모면하다 – “tries to evade politics”
10. demonstrate – 보여주다, 시연하다 – “a fun way to demonstrate where AI technology is at and what it can do.”

🔗 원문 링크

https://www.wired.com/story/ai-actor-tilly-norwood-told-me-that-all-lives-matter/