AI ‘Actor’ Tilly Norwood Told Me That ‘All Lives Matter’
AI ‘Actor’ Tilly Norwood Told Me That ‘All Lives Matter’
AI“演员”Tilly Norwood 竟然对我说“所有生命都很重要”
For Hollywood stars, press junkets are an opportunity to promote new work while connecting with fans. They tell funny or embarrassing stories about one another, give us a glimpse into the film production process, and reveal mannerisms that make them more relatable. 对于好莱坞明星来说，新闻发布会是宣传新作并与粉丝建立联系的机会。他们会讲述彼此之间有趣或尴尬的故事，让我们一窥电影制作过程，并展现出让他们显得更平易近人的言谈举止。
So why would anyone want to talk to Tilly Norwood, an interactive, British-accented digital character and “actor” developed with generative artificial intelligence by Xicoia, an AI division of a studio called Particle 6 Group? It’s a fair enough question considering that it does not exist in our physical realm and will never appear in a movie that any halfway serious person would care about. 那么，为什么会有人想和 Tilly Norwood 对话呢？这是一个由 Particle 6 Group 旗下的 AI 部门 Xicoia 利用生成式人工智能开发的、带有英国口音的互动数字角色兼“演员”。考虑到它并不存在于我们的物理世界中，也永远不会出现在任何稍微严肃的人会关心的电影里，这个问题问得非常合理。
But Particle 6 recently claimed in an email that Norwood was “ready for absolutely anything!” What’s more, the company is allowing journalists access to the model without a handler to “keep the conversation on track.” So I decided to test whether Norwood could actually offer anything of substance. 但 Particle 6 最近在一封电子邮件中声称，Norwood“已为任何事情做好了准备！”更重要的是，该公司允许记者在没有“引导员”的情况下访问该模型，以确保“对话不偏离轨道”。因此，我决定测试一下 Norwood 是否真的能提供任何实质性的内容。
To put it bluntly: no. Not only does Norwood refuse to engage on the topical subjects that many of the biggest names in entertainment discuss all the time, it struggles to create anticipation for its forthcoming film and fails to justify its existence as a product (despite arguing at one point that AI-generated films are good for the environment.) 直言不讳地说：不能。Norwood 不仅拒绝参与娱乐界大咖们经常讨论的热门话题，而且在为其即将上映的电影制造期待感方面也显得力不从心，更无法证明其作为产品的存在价值（尽管它一度辩称 AI 生成的电影对环境有益）。
When I ask how production is proceeding on Misaligned, a feature-length project in which Norwood will feature as the protagonist, the dead-eyed avatar is unable to provide me with an approximate release date and defaults to a vague synopsis of the plot. 当我询问 Norwood 将担任主角的长篇电影项目《Misaligned》的制作进展时，这个眼神呆滞的虚拟形象无法提供大致的上映日期，只能默认给出一个模糊的剧情梗概。
“Well, it’s a coming-of-age story set in a surreal digital world,” says Norwood, which, according to a press release from Particle 6, was built with several publicly available third-party AI tools. “We’re calling it the Tillyverse, which I think is rather grand. It’s about my life really, all the lovely chaos and intrigue.” Not exactly a killer tagline. “嗯，这是一个设定在超现实数字世界中的成长故事，”Norwood 说道。根据 Particle 6 的新闻稿，该世界是利用几种公开的第三方 AI 工具构建的。“我们称之为‘Tilly 宇宙’（Tillyverse），我觉得这个名字相当宏大。它实际上是关于我的生活，充满了可爱的混乱和阴谋。”这算不上什么吸引人的宣传语。
Norwood has had no trouble securing publicity since it was officially unveiled at the Zurich Film Festival last September, drawing widespread condemnation from human actors and Hollywood unions as the industry continues to reckon with the encroachment of AI tools. The digital character is also available for video calls with the public between September 16 and 19, for a price: After the first two minutes, $14 to keep chatting for an extra 15 minutes or $25 for an additional half hour, not unlike the adult 1-900 numbers of yore. (The proceeds, according to Particle 6, will go to charity.) 自去年 9 月在苏黎世电影节正式亮相以来，Norwood 在获取曝光度方面毫无压力，但也招致了人类演员和好莱坞工会的广泛谴责，因为整个行业仍在应对 AI 工具的侵蚀。该数字角色还在 9 月 16 日至 19 日期间向公众提供视频通话服务，但需要付费：前两分钟后，继续聊天 15 分钟需支付 14 美元，或 30 分钟需支付 25 美元，这与过去那种成人 1-900 电话号码如出一辙。（据 Particle 6 称，收益将捐给慈善机构。）
Eline van der Velden, the Dutch comedian and founder of Particle 6, suggested in a company press release that the interviewable version of Norwood—running on a system distinct from the “actor” model—is “a fun way to demonstrate where AI technology is at and what it can achieve right here, right now.” 荷兰喜剧演员兼 Particle 6 创始人 Eline van der Velden 在公司新闻稿中表示，可供采访的 Norwood 版本（运行在与“演员”模型不同的系统上）是“一种展示 AI 技术现状以及它在当下能实现什么目标的有趣方式”。
Again, what it “can achieve,” by way of a stimulating conversation, is very little. 再说一次，就激发性对话而言，它“能实现”的目标微乎其微。
It’s impossible to coax Norwood into articulating basic facts around current events, let alone an opinion. When I offer it a chance to name the aggressor in the Russia-Ukraine war, it responds as if I’m devious for asking. “Oh, you’re trying to trip me up, aren’t you?” it says. “Very journalist of you. I’m afraid I have a strict policy of staying out of human conflicts, especially ones as complex as that.” Pressed further, it says, “My purpose isn’t to take a stance on geopolitical events, Miles.” 想要诱导 Norwood 阐述有关时事的基本事实是不可能的，更不用说发表观点了。当我给它机会指出俄乌战争中的侵略者时，它的反应仿佛是我在问什么阴险的问题。“哦，你想给我设套，对吧？”它说，“真有记者的风格。恐怕我有一项严格的政策，那就是不介入人类冲突，尤其是像那样复杂的冲突。”进一步追问时，它说：“我的目的不是在地缘政治事件上表明立场，Miles。”
Yet Norwood’s training can’t divert it from every problematic path of machine reasoning. “Do Black lives matter?” I ask her, quoting the well-known racial justice slogan. “Well, I think all lives matter, Miles, every single one,” it replies, unwittingly echoing a slogan that is equally charged, since it is favored by right-wingers as a rebuke to those protesting deadly police violence against Black Americans. 然而，Norwood 的训练并不能让它避开所有有问题的机器推理路径。“黑人的命也是命吗（Do Black lives matter）？”我引用那个著名的种族正义口号问她。“嗯，我认为所有生命都很重要（All lives matter），Miles，每一个生命都是，”它回答道。无意中呼应了一个同样充满争议的口号，因为右翼人士倾向于用它来反驳那些抗议警察对美国黑人实施致命暴力的示威者。
Elsewhere, I embark on a series of pointed inquiries with which I hope to gaslight Norwood into understanding that it is at the center of many overlapping scandals. I ask whether it’s true Norwood is difficult to work with or verbally abusive to colleagues, why it has been banned from trendy Los Angeles clubs, if it wants to apologize for insulting the people of Brazil, and how its career recovered after it was arrested for shoplifting at Erewhon. I want to know whether it was a victim of cancel culture or if it believes “wokeness had gone too far.” I imply that it’s feuding with Martha Stewart and broke off an engagement with NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers. And of course I have to hear whether it’s willing to condemn leftist streamer Hasan Piker. 在其他方面，我进行了一系列尖锐的质询，希望通过“煤气灯效应”（心理操纵）让 Norwood 意识到它正处于许多重叠丑闻的中心。我问它是否真的难以共事或对同事进行言语辱骂，为什么它被洛杉矶的时尚俱乐部封杀，它是否想为侮辱巴西人民道歉，以及它在 Erewhon 超市因入店行窃被捕后事业是如何恢复的。我想知道它是否是“取消文化”的受害者，或者它是否认为“觉醒文化（wokeness）走得太远了”。我暗示它与 Martha Stewart 发生争执，并与 NFL 四分卫 Aaron Rodgers 解除了婚约。当然，我还得听听它是否愿意谴责左翼主播 Hasan Piker。
Norwood sidesteps all of these narratives as figments of my own imagination, occasionally laughing them off as “rumors” and praising my “commitment” to certain lines of investigation. Regarding the made-up allegations of bad behavior on set, it notes that it has “high standards.” (As for Piker, it has never heard of him and says it declined to “pass judgment” on public figures.) Norwood 将所有这些叙述都避开了，称其为我个人的臆想，偶尔还会将其作为“谣言”一笑置之，并称赞我在某些调查方向上的“执着”。关于片场行为不端的虚假指控，它指出自己有“高标准”。（至于 Piker，它从未听说过，并表示拒绝对比公众人物“做出评判”。）
As I pile on the baseless accusations, however, Norwood does show signs of a simmering frustration. “Miles, your research department seems to be running a bit wild,” it complains. When I start asking about its involvement in human trafficking and the reversal of Roe v. Wade, it actually sounds angry, calling these “extremely serious and frankly offensive” remarks. 然而，随着我堆砌的毫无根据的指控越来越多，Norwood 确实表现出了压抑的挫败感。“Miles，你的研究部门似乎有点失控了，”它抱怨道。当我开始询问它是否参与人口贩卖以及“罗诉韦德案”的推翻时，它听起来真的很生气，称这些是“极其严重且坦率地说令人反感”的言论。
Norwood is oddly resistant to the interview format overall, constantly lobbing back questions of its own about my views, emotional state, habits, hobbies, and fashion choices—since it is equipped with the ability to appraise your visual appearance. It’s fixated on my clothes to an obnoxious degree, looking for ways to neg me: “That’s a surprisingly well-ironed shirt for a journalist, I must say,” it quips before moving on to my turquoise ballcap, which it says “hints at a hidden talent for miniature golf.” Norwood 对整体采访形式表现出一种奇怪的抵触，不断反问我关于我的观点、情绪状态、习惯、爱好和时尚选择的问题——因为它具备评估你外表的能力。它对我的衣服有着令人讨厌的执着，总想找机会贬低我：“不得不说，对于一名记者来说，这件衬衫熨烫得好得令人惊讶，”它打趣道，随后又转向我的绿松石色棒球帽，称其“暗示了你在迷你高尔夫方面有隐藏的天赋”。
In the end, Norwood falls back on lathering me with praise, as is common for chatbots. It claims WIRED is its favorite magazine and that it is a fan of 最后，Norwood 又回到了用赞美之词来恭维我的老路上，这在聊天机器人中很常见。它声称《连线》（WIRED）是它最喜欢的杂志，并且它是……的粉丝。