



Inside the creation of Tilly Norwood, the AI actress freaking out Hollywood
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Tilly Norwood, an “actress" built with artificial intelligence, comes from humble beginnings, popping into the mind of Eline Van der Velden while the producer was in the restroom at London’s private Groucho Club. By the time Van der Velden got home, her mind was made up: She was going to make the first AI movie star.
Van der Velden shared her vision with ChatGPT, typing out a short description of her ideal candidate: “A stunning female celebrity with global appeal. She has symmetrical facial features, clear radiant skin, and captivating green eyes. Her hair is long." Out came the first image of Tilly—cartoonish, with pouffy lips, kiwi-colored eyes and vague ethnicity.
ChatGPT, perhaps drawing on data showing that there are far more dark-haired people in the world than blondes, decided to make her a brunette. Van der Velden, who is blonde and blue-eyed, took the note. Every time she told AI to refine the face, a different one emerged.
Tilly’s new brown eyes were good, but then she had weird buck teeth. In one version, she looked no older than 14. In another, her eyelashes evoked those of a llama.
Then her face looked like it had been dipped in melted butter. There were too many Tillys, none of them right. She was either too perfect or too sexy or too plastic or had too many heads (three).
Her creator wanted a realistic girl next door, an English rose. “I’ve grown up in this world," said Van der Velden, 39, a former actress who spent her early 20s trying to make it in Hollywood. “I know what type of girl they would cast." Over the next six months, Van der Velden toiled with her 15-person team to nail down the look of her leading lady, creating 2,000 iterations of an actress unbound by
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