AI 'Actor' Tilly Norwood Releases Cringeworthy Music Video

The song, meant to be a rallying cry for AI actors, falls flat with its lack of human connection.

Mar. 11, 2026 at 11:35pm by Ben Kaplan

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Particle6, the production company behind the AI 'actor' Tilly Norwood, has released a music video for a song called 'Take the Lead' featuring the digital character. The song, which the author describes as the 'worst song I've ever heard,' is meant to be a rallying cry for AI actors to keep going despite criticism from human actors who doubt their humanity. However, the lyrics and video fail to connect with any real human experience, making the entire endeavor feel hollow and disconnected.

Why it matters

The release of this song highlights the growing tensions between human and AI actors in the entertainment industry. While some see AI-generated content as the future, others, like the actors' union SAG-AFTRA, argue that it jeopardizes performer livelihoods and devalues human artistry. This song is an example of how AI-generated content can fall flat when it tries to address human experiences it cannot truly understand.

The details

The music video for 'Take the Lead' features Tilly Norwood, the AI 'actor' created by Particle6, strutting through a data center and a stage, singing about how she is 'still human' and urging other AI actors to 'take the lead' and 'create the future.' The song, which the author describes as sounding like a 'Sara Bareillis rip-off,' is meant to be a rallying cry for AI actors, but the lyrics about being 'disregarded for being an AI' ring hollow and fail to connect with any real human experience.

  • Particle6 debuted its AI-generated 'actor' Tilly Norwood last fall.
  • The music video for 'Take the Lead' was released in March 2026.

The players

Tilly Norwood

An AI-generated 'actor' created by the production company Particle6.

Particle6

The production company that created the AI 'actor' Tilly Norwood.

Emily Blunt

A Golden Globe-winning actress who expressed concern about the rise of AI actors in Hollywood.

Xania Monet

A digital persona whose AI-generated song 'How Was I Supposed to Know?' made it onto the Billboard R&B charts.

SAG-AFTRA

The union representing actors, which has criticized the use of AI-generated 'actors' as jeopardizing performer livelihoods and devaluing human artistry.

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What they’re saying

“Good Lord, we're screwed. Come on, agencies, don't do that. Please stop.”

— Emily Blunt, Golden Globe-winning actress

“'Tilly Norwood' is not an actor; it's a character generated by a computer program that was trained on the work of countless professional performers — without permission or compensation. It has no life experience to draw from, no emotion and, from what we've seen, audiences aren't interested in watching computer-generated content untethered from the human experience. It doesn't solve any 'problem' — it creates the problem of using stolen performances to put actors out of work, jeopardizing performer livelihoods and devaluing human artistry.”

— SAG-AFTRA

The takeaway

This cringeworthy music video from the AI 'actor' Tilly Norwood highlights the growing tensions between human and AI actors in the entertainment industry. While some see AI-generated content as the future, others argue that it jeopardizes performer livelihoods and devalues human artistry. This song's lack of any real human connection or experience serves as a cautionary tale about the limitations of AI-generated art and entertainment.