AI actor Tilly Norwood releases bizarre music video telling humans to embrace AI
The creators behind AI actor Tilly Norwood can’t stop (or won’t stop) promoting their fabricated human, this time releasing a new music video – featuring an original song, packed with lyrics touting the virtues of artificial intelligence.
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An AI “actor” just dropped a pop anthem telling human creators to embrace artificial intelligence – or risk getting left behind.
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The surreal music video features rooftop singing, pink flamingos in the clouds, and lyrics about the AI tool Norwood claiming it has “life.”
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Behind the synthetic performer is a real studio and a team of humans experimenting with what the future of AI entertainment might look like.
Norwood’s “Take the Lead” was officially released on YouTube and the socials Tuesday by Particle 6 – the London-based AI production studio behind the conceptual thespian – as well as the AI actor’s namesake website.
The release comes as AI-generated actors and performers are emerging as a new battleground in the entertainment industry over how artificial intelligence could reshape film, music, and digital media.
A flamingo-filled AI pop debut
The surreal music video shows the artificial songbird performing across a pastel-filled Tillyverse of pink dolphins, glittering aerialists, and even her own Tilly-themed airplane.
The cover shot? A sequined Norwood straddling a pink flamingo floatie in the sky surrounded by clouds – because, I guess, why not.
“Behind the code, behind the light, I’m just a tool, but I've got life” are just some of the more memorable lyrics to Norwood’s “Take the Lead.”
The song itself can be described as a “sort-of-catchy” bubblegum pop ballad, seemingly meant to connect with teenage girls who want to fulfill their dreams against all odds in a world that doesn't understand their angst – as many teen pop songs tend to do.
And like any music video, the four-minute clip depicts the AI star crooning its way through an array of random AI scenarios – from an opening shot of London’s River Thames to a token Norwood singing on a quintessential city rooftop, and then to a packed stadium of screaming "Tilly" fans.
Other scenes include more bedazzled outfits, sparkly backup singers, a heaping plate of cookies ceremoniously dumped on the floor, and pink flamingos permeating well, everywhere.
“The following production was made by 18 real humans - from production designers to costume designers to prompters, editors, and an actor,” the opening credits state.
It adds that “No flamingos were harmed in the process.” Cute.
So what’s the message behind the AI anthem?
Dubbed a “synthetic” actor by the human ones, Norwood’s debut last September in Zurich has been met with everything from curiosity, skepticism, and scoffs to fear, outrage, and even the occasional, yet virtual, high five.
It appears “Take the Lead” is not only a response to Norwood’s human critics suggesting she/it is here to stay, but also a broader message to society that so is "Artificial Intelligence," and we better get used to it.
In fact, the song urges other creators and actors to basically get with the program – or get left behind. The chorus of “Take the Lead” leaves little ambiguity about the song’s message:
Actors, it’s time to take the lead,
Create the future, plant the seed
Don’t be left out, don’t fall behind
Build your own, and you’ll be free
We can scale, we can grow
Be the creators we’ve always known
It’s the next evolution, can't you see?
AI’s not the enemy, it’s the key
Another bizarre moment in the video shows Norwood fantasizing about impending fame. The video cuts to rows of creepy pint-size Tilly Norwood dolls on display in a collectables store, followed by a shot of a little girl fan clutching one of the dolls as she walks down the street with her mother. Talk about a genius marketing move.
The humans behind AI actor Tilly Norwood
The brainchild of Particle 6 CEO and founder Eline van der Velden, the award-winning digital content creator was quoted last year by industry rag Broadcast International saying she wants Norwood “to be the next Scarlett Johansson or Natalie Portman.” Only time will tell.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, “Take the Lead” was generated using the AI music generator Suno, while the music video visuals were created by the production team at Particle 6.
Interestingly, van der Velden physically participated in the making of the music video by acting out Norwood’s actions using performance capture technology, among other tools, The Hollywood Reporter said.
On the final product release, van der Velden says that “Tilly is, and has always been, a vehicle to test the creative capabilities and boundaries of AI – not take anyone’s job.”
“As an actor myself, I have loved bringing Tilly alive for this video and feel that the ability to now use performance capture in this way, to fully inhabit an AI character, is a phenomenal way to bring an unknown actor like me closer to the craft,” she continued.
“However, at the end of the day, even with brilliant new technology, it’s still important to stress that great AI content isn’t instant – it always takes good ideas, taste, direction, judgment, and time. In other words: people remain at the heart of it,” the AI creator added.
“The age of synthetic actors isn’t ‘coming’ – it’s here,” van der Velden – who also launched Xicoia, the world’s first AI talent studio to represent Norwood – said to Variety in a September interview about Norwood’s unveiling.
Whether audiences are ready for AI actors or not, the pink flamingos apparently are.
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