Show HN: Coverage of Hollywood's first AI actor controversy (techyquantum.com)

Dutch comedian Eline Van der Velden this week unveiled Tilly Norwood, an AI‑generated “actor” designed to mimic a young, girl‑next‑door performer, triggering swift condemnation from SAG‑AFTRA and A‑list stars including Emily Blunt, Natasha Lyonne and Whoopi Goldberg. Unions argue the persona—created as a digital character rather than a person—undermines human artistry and could breach post‑2023 strike safeguards meant to protect performers. The rollout reignites labor and ethical fears about replacing actors, with unions warning of contractual violations and legal scrutiny if studios or agencies use synthetic performers commercially. Technically, models like the one behind Tilly are trained on massive datasets of human performances, raising concerns about consent, likeness scraping and what critics call creative plagiarism. Industry analyses point to potential cost savings (Deloitte estimates up to ~25% for some commercial content), but audience and actor sentiment is skeptical: an AFI survey found 68% of U.S. viewers prefer human actors and 74% of actors fear role loss. Van der Velden’s studio Particle6 is reportedly building an AI talent agency, Xicoia, prompting calls for clearer rules. The controversy is poised to be a test case for how unions, studios and regulators — including forthcoming EU AI Act disclosure rules — define acceptable use of synthetic performers and balance innovation with protection of human creative labor.