Tilly

The digital world of the first AI actor, Tilly Norwood, is expanding.

AI talent studio Xicoia, which created Norwood, has announced plans for a “rapid expansion” for the digitized actor. The developments include a digital universe dubbed the “Tillyverse,” where ”Tilly and a new generation of AI characters will live, collaborate and build careers.”

The London-based company responsible for creating emotionally intelligent, hyperreal AI personas said it’s focused on more than experimenting with AI actors. It plans to build its own IP and change “how talent is created, developed and experienced in the AI era.”

“Together, we’re building something entirely new. Tilly Norwood isn’t just an AI character — she’s a personality, a brand, and a future global superstar with a compelling narrative arc,” said Xicoia CEO Eline van der Velden in a release.

Norwood was first launched last fall. Upon its introduction, many Hollywood actors, including Emily Blunt, Whoopi Goldberg and Natasha Lyonne, spoke out against the bot. Though Norwood has yet to star in a major project, the fear of AI-generated characters replacing actors and taking jobs is widespread.

Previously, SAG-AFTRA’s president, Sean Astin, also criticized the bot, saying, “It manipulates something that already exists, so the conceit that it isn’t harming actors — because it is its own new thing — ignores the fundamental truth that it is taking something that doesn’t belong to them.”

The development deepens union anxieties more than two years after concerns about the use and misuse of artificial intelligence led to back-to-back strikes.

SAG-AFTRA re-entered contract negotiations with the major studios last month. The union is expected to propose what has been called the Tilly tax, a fee that studios would have to pay to the union in exchange for using an AI actor.

Xicoia, which is owned by AI video production studio Particle6, recently hired former Amazon Prime Video executive Mark Whelan. He will lead Norwood’s expansion, develop new AI characters and oversee the creation of AI talent commissioned by third parties.

“Becoming a lead architect of the Tillyverse is genuinely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said Whelan in the release. “AI is evolving at breathtaking speed, and combining cutting-edge tech with ambitious creative thinking means we’re not following an industry playbook at Xicoia — we are writing it.”

The company expects the “Tillyverse” to launch later this year.

EXCLUSIVE: Tilly and Antony were handcuffed together 24/7 as they competed for £100,000 on the Channel 4 reality show hosted by Jonathan Ross

Tilly and Antony have spilled the beans on what it was truly like being shackled together for Channel 4‘s outrageous new programme.

The Suffolk-based millionaire vintage car enthusaist, aged 60, and a 37-year-old barmaid from North London who balances three jobs, are among the nine pairs of Brits vying for the £100,000 prize.

Introduced by host Jonathan Ross, the 18 Handcuffed: Last Pair Standing contestants will have to endure being chained to each other round-the-clock, doing everything in unison.

If the pressure becomes unbearable, they can choose to uncuff at any moment, but doing so means they’re out of the running, with the last pair standing claiming the entire pot.

The competitors are a diverse mix from all walks of life and are strangers to each other, reports the Daily Star.

As the cuffs are secured, with the duos separated by a special screen, they’ll only find out who they’ve been chained to once the partition is removed.

Discussing the biggest hurdle they encountered, Antony revealed: “Being a man of 60 years of age, I have to get up in the middle of the night to go to the loo so I was conscious of the fact that wouldn’t be something Tilly would be doing.

“I practised for weeks before we filmed with every contraption known to man on how to actually wee in the bed and I managed to get the right contraption so that was a really tough thing but I don’t think I ever woke her up when I was doing it.”

He continued: “She used to snuggle down sort of hip level and I got this contraption on the old man to pee and her head was six inches away from it and then, of course, once it’s finished, you’ve got to put the lid back on and put it by the side of the bed.

“So I had all that to deal with without waking her up and I was very proud of the fact that I mastered it. I carried this thing around with me everywhere but I found that difficult to begin with.”

Tilly, who has previously appeared on The Island with Bear Grylls, went on to share the biggest lessons she learned after taking part in the social experiment, saying: “I think to listen more, be patient and realise that everybody is different, everybody comes from a different background and that makes them who they are.

“Me and Antony had a chat quite early on, I think it was on the first day, and I said ‘listen, I’m not gonna quit’ and Antony was like ‘neither am I’. So we were like, okay, well, cool’.

“I wouldn’t have bothered entering the competition if I thought for a minute that I wouldn’t see it through on my part. I done it for the money.”

Fans will have to wait and see exactly how far Tilly and Antony progress in the competition, but the pair remain friends despite showering and using the toilet mere inches from one another.

Antony said: “I think I have changed a lot since the show and I’m not quite as private a person as I was. I was determined that the person I was gonna be handcuffed to I would get on with.

“When the screen went back, we had a connection and it’s as simple that. I thought to myself ‘thank God for that’. I consider she’ll always be a friend and there’s quite a lot planned for the future for us.”

Handcuffed: Last Pair Standing launches Monday, March 2 at 9pm. Watch or stream on Channel 4.

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