Artificial Intelligence is a subject President Trump is currently being scorched over. He is criticized for his approach to the countless tendrils that advancing tech has on our culture, and the implications of China spearheading its advancement. But his critics may be acting worse, prostrating themselves to the AI corporations this week.
CNN last week spoke with an on-screen figure, and NBC followed suit on Monday, interviewing Tilly Norwood. The outlet interviewed Tilly to get a sense of how future movie appearances will play out. What was delivered is not a standard entertainment interview, where a reporter has a one-on-one with a thespian.
Elizabeth Wagmeister at CNN and Chloe Melas at NBC News “interviewed” an artificial intelligence “actress.” Tilly Norwood is a fabricated digital performer, and there is an effort to have this character cast into films.
In both interviews, the reporters spoke in a video conference (obviously) and asked a battery of questions and received responses in real time. This was not an overly impressive exchange, however. Tilly displayed clearly staged responses, such as commenting on what both reporters were wearing and the setting of the room they were in.
These news reports almost feel like a typical Hollywood junket, but why the outlets played along is somewhat disturbing. As an introduction to Wagmeister’s interview, Erin Burnett was actually humanizing this artificial intelligence, referring to this being HER first interview, and that SHE is causing outrage, not IT.
AI-generated “actor,” Tilly Norwood talks to CNN for her first on-camera interview. How does she respond to the outrage she’s causing across Hollywood? pic.twitter.com/UoXFitDpGA
— Erin Burnett OutFront (@OutFrontCNN) September 11, 2026
That approach alone is taking the next step down the slippery digital slope. Tilly was created by comedienne Eileen Van Der Velden, working with an AI production company called Particle Six. Van Der Velden has her own digital stable of characters with her company Xicoia, described as an AI talent studio.
There were shockwaves sent through the entertainment industry when, last year at this time, Tilly Norwood was being shopped around to talent agencies in Hollywood. That this not only took place but also generated interest in representing the “actress” generated a wave of reactions in the acting community.
The performers’ union, the Screen Actors Guild, reacted loudly to Tilly being shopped around to agencies, as expected. When SAG-AFTRA was on strike three years ago, the primary roadblock with the studios was the adoption of artificial intelligence in movie productions.
And after negotiations concluded and actors were back to work, the studios in rapid fashion began incorporating AI in various components of filmmaking. The major studios are courting massive deals with AI companies, as new opportunities and cost-saving measures take priority.
Why, when the acting community is wailing, are the news networks platforming a faux, artificial intelligence “actress” is the question. It echoes the deeply disturbing display seen when Jim Acosta “interviewed” the dead Parkland High School student, Joaquin Oliver. His parents fabricated an AI version of their deceased son for activist purposes.
To see CNN and NBC News resorting to staging “interviews” of this nature should be an embarrassment. It will serve them, if they want to avoid charges of “fake news,” that maybe avoiding interviews with fake actresses would be a smarter move.
This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.
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