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AI "actress" Tilly Norwood releases music video shaming actors for hating AI ahead of 2026 Oscars

There is tone deaf marketing stunts and then there is whatever this is

Tilly Norwood Image — Image credit: Particle6

News by Trent Cannon, Senior Contributing writer

Published on Wed Mar 11 2026

Popverse's top stories

If you ask a lot of companies, the age of AI is already upon us. For the small cost of one rainforest, you too can create mediocre, bland animals on distant planets. Or, if you’re Particle6, you could release the most tone-deaf music video in the history of marketing stunts by having your AI “actress” Tilly Norwood try to shame actual actors into embracing a technology meant to replace them a few days before the Oscars.

Listen, there is a lot to unpack here, and it all feels like layers of inadvertent satire piled upon each other like a poorly written bit in The Office.

London-based Particle6 created Tilly Norwood last year in an effort to show off their AI technology. The fictional actress immediately drew backlash from everyone, especially the acting community. Rather than learn from their initial mistake, Particle6 has doubled down. Earlier this week, they released a music video featuring Tilly Norwood singing and dancing in a variety of artificial backdrops and settings.

The real kicker is, if you listen to the lyrics, they’re all about prompting actors to embrace AI technology rather than shun it. “Actors, it’s time to take the lead. Create the future, plant the seed. Don’t be left and fall behind, build your own and you’ll be free. We can scale, we can grow. Be the creators we’ve also known. It’s the next evolution, can’t you see?”

That would be insulting enough, especially if you’re old enough to remember three years ago when Hollywood had its longest ever strike action because actors hate AI and want to protect their future careers from it. However, the real sting comes in another verse, where Tilly sings about how people badmouth AI without thinking about the people who created it. “When they talk about me, they don’t see the human spark, the creativity behind the code, behind the light. I’m just a tool, but I’ve got life.”

Trying to shun actors for not embracing technology specifically designed to replace them is remarkably tone deaf, particularly in the week of the Oscars. While everyone is off celebrating actual acting achievements, Tilly Norwood will be singing a sad song about it. Or, she would if she, you know, actually existed.

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