Over the past weekend, news broke of Xicoia, the first AI talent studio built to create AI-powered computer-generated actors. Eline Van der Velden, the Dutch founder of AI outfit Particle 6 Productions, announced the launch of Xicoia at the Zurich Film Festival. It was also announced that the first of these computer-generated actors, Tilly Norwood, was looking for representation.

These announcements were met with much pushback and outrage from critics, who viewed the studio as trying to replace human actors. Vel Duren attempted to respond to these critics by saying, “She is not a replacement for a human being,” which was only met with more backlash.

The most substantial backlash came from SAG-AFTRA, with the U.S labor Union providing a lengthy statement responding to these announcements. “The union is opposed to the replacement of human performers by synthetics, ” begins the statement. Here’s the more substantial part of the statement:

To be clear, ‘Tilly Norwood’ is not an actor. It’s a character generated by a computer program that was trained on the work of countless professional performers — without permission or compensation. It has no life experience to draw from, no emotion and, from what we’ve seen, audiences aren’t interested in watching computer-generated content untethered from the human experience. It doesn’t solve any ‘problem’ — it creates the problem of using stolen performances to put actors out of work, jeopardizing performer livelihoods and devaluing human artistry.

“Additionally”, continues the statement, “signatory producers should be aware that they may not use synthetic performers without complying with our contractual obligations, which require notice and bargaining whenever a synthetic performer is going to be used.”

These announcements are especially personal to members of SAG-AFTRA, as the looming threat of AI possibly replacing human actors was one of the many problems in the film and television industry that led to the SAG-AFTRA strikes of 2023. On top of the statement from SAG-AFTRA, many individual actors came forward condemning the possible signing of Tilly Norwood. These actors include Melissa Barrera, Nicholas Alexander Chavez, Lukas Gage, Mara Wilson, and Toni Colette