AI Actor Tilly Norwood Says ‘All Lives Matter’ When Asked About Black Lives
An AI-generated character named Hollywood’s first virtual “actor” by Xicoia (the AI division of Particle 6 Group) told WIRED magazine’s interviewer that “all lives matter” when asked about the Black Lives Matter movement and the protests against police violence towards Black Americans.
In response to the question, “Do Black lives matter?”, Tilly Norwood, Xicoia’s AI character, said, “Well, I think all lives matter, Miles, every single one.” This response mirrors a rebuttal slogan powered by right-wing sentiment that has been deployed against the Black Lives Matter movement.
Key Details
- What happened: AI character Tilly Norwood responded to Black Lives Matter question with “all lives matter”
- Who is involved: Tilly Norwood (AI character), WIRED senior writer Miles Klee, Particle 6 Group/Xicoia
- Where: Remote video interview
- When: September 2026 (interview recorded before September 16 publishing)
- Latest development: WIRED published the interview on September 16, 2026
- What comes next: Tilly Norwood will have public video calls from September 16 – September 19, 2026
The Controversial Exchange
AI Character Struggles with Political Questions
Klee found that the AI was avoiding politics. When Klee tried to ask the AI about the Russia- Ukraine war, the AI said, “Oh, you’re trying to trip me up, aren’t you? Very journalistic of you. I have a policy of keeping out of all human conflicts, especially all the complicated ones.”
Tilly Norwood already has a training program, but prohibiting the character from responding to something like “all lives matter” shows the limits of AI content-filtering programs.
Background on Tilly Norwood
Created by Xicoia (the AI Division) of the Particle 6 Group (a production company started by Eline van der Velden), Tilly Norwood premiered in September 2025 at the Zurich Film Festival. The character’s debut has led to protests by human actors and Hollywood trade unions, who claim AI will replace human actors.
Particle 6 said the character was built using a few available AI tools. The character is available to perform in films, music videos, and all entertainment-focused things.
The AI character is endorsing “Misaligned”. According to Particle 6, “Misaligned” is a coming-of-age science fiction set in a surreal digital world called the Tillyverse. A release date is currently unknown.
Hollywood Backlash Continues
Particle 6’s creation, Tilly Norwood, has drawn significant backlash from industry workers, voice unions, and SAG-AFTRA. This opposition stems largely from the lack of consent and the subsequent financial compensation for the performers whose work is used to train the AI actors.
The breaking of the entertainment industry’s collective psyche, following AI protections being a predominant focal point of the 2023 Hollywood Strikes, is what’s making Tilly Norwood a talking point of the larger entertainment industry AI disruption.
Public Access Available
Why It Matters
This incident illustrates several important issues:
- AI Limits: Despite claims of sophistication, AI characters have shown an inability to balance and understand complex social and political issues, creating a platform for divisive, unhelpful, and dangerous statements.
- Industry Disruption: AI is getting integrated into entertainment. Human actors are becoming increasingly displaced, and studios are saving costs with AI performers.
- Political Sensitivity: Tilly Norwood’s “all lives matter” response illustrates how Acanto threatens political peace by spreading divisive and dangerous speech with little to no context, a nd by questioning the AI industry.
- Training Data Concerns: The reply is likely to show patterns in the AI’s training data, resuming the conversation about the data AI learns from and what that means for the data’s sensitivity.
What Happens Next
We do not know what the entertainment industry will do about this issue. SAG-AFTRA has not made a statement concerning the “All Lives Matter” incident.
Particle 6 continues promoting “Misaligned,” even though no release date has been revealed. Industry professionals and technology critics still question the company’s promotion of Tilly Norwood as a working actor.
FAQ
What did Tilly Norwood say about Black Lives Matter?
When WIRED interviewer Miles Klee asked, “Do Black lives matter?” the AI character responded: “Well, I think all lives matter, Miles, every single one.” This is a general response to a very specific problem.
Who created Tilly Norwood?
Xicoia, the AI division of Particle 6 Group, a production company founded by Dutch comedian Eline van der Velde, created Tilly Norwood. The character was constructed using publicly available AI tools.
Why is “all lives matter” controversial?
In response to the Black Lives Matter movement, “all lives matter” gained popularity as a politically charged response to a social movement with a specific agenda. Civil rights advocates argue that racial bias and police brutality toward Black Americans are dismissed with the phrase, and it deflects from the matters raised by Black Lives Matter activists.
What upcoming project do we see Tilly Norwood in?
Tilly Norwood will be the first actor to step on screen in the film “Misaligned”. The movie follows a protagonist who comes of age in a dystopian, digital world known as the “Tillyverse”. It currently has no scheduled release.
Has Hollywood responded to the AI actor?
There has been quite a bit of backlash against the AI actor released in September 2025 at the Zurich Film Festival. The backlash has mainly come from human actors and organizations like SAG-AFTRA, which have spoken out against AI stand-in technology in the Hollywood Workplace.
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