Tilly Norwood, the AI-generated actress would be appearing at a cinema near you soon as it comes with a spin off talent agency – an indication there is more to come despite the online backlash the introduction of Norwood has generated.

The AI tools company Particle6 is the talent agency for its AI creations, including Tilly Norwood. The creators have been forced to defend their AI programme following furious online backlash.

“To those who have expressed anger over the creation of my AI character, Tilly Norwood, she is not a replacement for a human being, but a creative work – a piece of art,” actress and comedian Eline Van der Velden wrote after reports that talent agencies were looking to sign the character. “Like many forms of art before her, she sparks conversation, and that in itself shows the power of creativity,” said Van der Velden, the founder of AI talent studio Xicoia.

She said AI was a new tool in the vein of animation, puppetry, or CGI, and was not intended to replace live acting. “I’m an actor myself, and nothing, certainly not an AI character, can take away the craft or joy of human performance,” she added.

Tilly Norwood character debuted in a YouTube video from Particle6, and her Instagram account currently has nearly 11,000 followers. A parody account with a similar name has also popped up.

That feature prompted interest from talent scouts and fury from human actors, who refused to work with AI-generated ‘actors’ and proposed a boycott of studios looking to use them. “AI characters should be judged as part of their own genre, on their own merits,” wrote Van der Velden.