Chris Pratt has declared he has no concerns about being ‘replaced’ by AI actors.
A few months ago, it emerged that the upcoming actress Tilly Norwood was actually not real – and was an artificial intelligence creation.
Despite this, it was reported that talent agents were keen to hire her, leading to some Hollywood stars including Emily Blunt to slam the move and declare the development would ‘take away our human connection’.
Meanwhile Scream actress Melissa Barrera called the creation of Tilly and the interest in hiring her ‘gross’.
Although many have been left uneasy about whether Tilly – and future AI actors – could threaten their jobs and the wider industry, Chris Pratt is unfazed.
During the premiere of the film Mercy in New York this week, he was asked by Variety about AI actors.
‘I don’t feel like someone’s gonna replace me,’ he insisted.
He added that the panic surrounding synthetic AI performers like Tilly was ‘all bulls***’.
‘I don’t feel like someone’s gonna replace me that’s AI,’ he went on.
‘I heard this Tilly Norwood thing, I think that’s all bulls***. I’ve never seen her in a movie. I don’t know who this b**** is. It’s all fake until it’s something.’
Chris. 46, rose to fame in the drama series Everwood, which ran from 2002 until 2006. He then went on to star in the sitcom Parks and Recreation, the Guardians of the Galaxy film franchise and the Jurassic World movies.
His films as a leading actor have grossed over $14.1billion (£10.5billion) worldwide, making him one of the highest-grossing film stars of all time.
Continuing to speak about AI, he said there were wider applications of the technology that didn’t threaten human jobs and that it could be ‘an amazing tool in the right hands’.
Although the actor said he thought it would ‘inevitably disrupt the industry’, he was certain ‘great filmmakers would continue to make great films’.
‘I don’t think you’re going to replace the human soul of a director or a writer or an actor or a singer or any of this stuff that requires human yearning and suffering and vision in art,’ he added.
Tilly Norwood is a synthetic AI performer created by Dutch comedian Eline Van der Velden.
After she was unveiled at the Zurich Film Festival last summer, there was backlash from the entertainment industry, with SAG-AFRTA saying AI performers like her create ‘the problem of using stolen performances to put actors out of work, jeopardising performer livelihoods and devaluing human artistry’.
After an official Instagram page was made for the actress, she now boasts over 93,000 followers.
In September, AI-generated videos were released which showed Tilly on a red carpet, crying on the sofa of The Graham Norton Show, and starring in mock trailers for sci-fi, fantasy, horror, and action films.
A string of actors came out to slam the AI actress including Natasha Lyonne, Sophie Turner, Toni Colette and Ralph Ineson.
After facing intense criticism, Van der Velden released a statement claiming Tilly ‘was not a replacement for a human being, but a creative work’.
‘Like many forms of art before her, she sparks conversation, and that in itself shows the power of creativity,’ she said.
‘I see AI not as a replacement for people, but as a new tool, a new paintbrush. Just as animation, puppetry, or CGI opened fresh possibilities without taking away from live acting, AI offers another way to imagine and build stories.
‘I’m an actor myself, and nothing – certainly not an AI character – can take away the craft or joy of human performance.’
She said that ‘creating Tilly has been, for me, an act of imagination and craftsmanship, not unlike drawing a character, writing a role, or shaping a performance’.
‘It takes time, skill, and iteration to bring such a character to life,’ Van der Velden argued. ‘She represents experimentation, not substitution. ‘Much of my work has always been about holding up a mirror to society through satire, and this is no different.’
She also believes that ‘AI characters should be judged as part of their own genre, on their own merits’, not compared directly to human beings.
The music industry is also facing similar concerns after it was revealed last week that popular soul singer Sienna Rose – who has more than 2 million monthly listeners on Spotify – was actually an AI artist.
In September last year, Sienna released her six-track EP Velvet Embrace, followed by two more projects and then her ‘debut album’ Honey on the Moon last month.
With 2.7million monthly listeners on Spotify, her quick success has been impressive, but she doesn’t actually exist.
Despite this, there’s been no indication on her artist page that she is computer-generated.
Speaking to Metro Kev Nixon – a musician, songwriter, producer and manager with a career spanning 50 years, which has also seen him work with Madonna, Bryan Adams and Robert Plant – he expressed concerned AI is ‘taking over’ the music industry.
‘This is ripping off new artists by not giving them a chance and the system is now completely clogged up [with AI songs]. The chances of emerging artists getting their songs up on platforms and getting attention is almost nil…which is preventing them getting paid,’ he said.
‘The money Sienna has been paid should be going to a young girl whose just made her first record and that could change her life. That is a criminal thing to happen.’
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