Saturday Night Live alum Amy Poehler was recently a host of NBC’s iconic sketch show, and during the famous monologue section of the show, the actor slammed Tilly Norwood, the AI entity that’s causing a stir. Norwood is considered an AI actress, and as absurd as this sounds, the synthetic being has been seeking some representation, with some agents showing interest in representing what’s essentially a fancy piece of computer code. Poehler has joined those speaking out against Norwood, and has slammed the AI actress, calling her (or “it”) a “stupid robot.”
After donning the suit to play United States Attorney General Pam Bondi in the cold open, Poehler fired off some shots during the monologue. According to The Hollywood Reporter, before referring to Norwood, the actor expressed her gratitude to be the host of a very special episode. Poehler said it was “a very special night for the show, not just because I’m here, but because 50 years ago today, on Oct. 11, 1975, the very first episode of SNL aired.”
She continued, saying, “The world looked a lot different in 1975. For one thing, women couldn’t even have credit cards yet. Yeah, but now I’m kind of like, ‘Somebody take my credit card away, am I right?” It was after this that the Parks and Recreation star addressed the AI actress situation without holding back her snarky comments:
“I remember watching the show in the ’70s, sitting in my house in Burlington, Massachusetts thinking, ‘I want to be an actress someday, at least until they invent an AI actress who’s funnier and willing to do full-frontal.’
“Before we start the show, I just wanted to say one thing: I know it can feel like times are very tough right now, and in some ways they always have been, and they always will be, so I’ll just say this — if there’s a place that feels like home that you can go back to and laugh with your friends, consider yourself lucky, and I do. And to that little AI robot watching TV right now who wants to be on this stage someday, I say to you, ‘Beep boop beep boop.’ Which translates to, ‘You’ll never be able to write a joke, you stupid robot.'”
Does AI Actress Tilly Norwood Have a Place in Hollywood?
In times when the very mention of AI sparks outrage in the realm of films and television, Tilly Norwood rises. The artificial entity, programmed to perform, faces a strong backlash from the entertainment industry and most of its figures. So far, the company that created Norwood remains without supporters, but their plan is to go ahead and expand Norwood to become a Hollywood celebrity.
While some filmmakers have expressed their support for the existence of AI, most fear that computer algorithms could be replacing humans in the arts. It’s safe to say that, for now, computers still can’t replicate human artistic expression, but the technology keeps getting better. Hopefully, as viewers, we’ll be able to keep recognizing what’s fake and what has actual blood running through its veins. Yes, we are our only hope.
- Release Date
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October 11, 1975
- Network
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NBC
- Directors
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Dave Wilson, Don Roy King, Liz Patrick, Andy Warhol, Linda Lee Cadwell, Matthew Meshekoff, Paul Miller, Robert Altman, Robert Smigel
- Writers
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Will Forte, Bill Hader, Tina Fey, Kristen Wiig, Chris Parnell, Asa Taccone, John Lutz, Tom Schiller, Simon Rich, Michael Patrick O’Brien, Nicki Minaj, Herbert Sargent, Matt Piedmont, John Solomon, Chris Kelly, Alan Zweibel, Kent Sublette, Ari Katcher, Marika Sawyer, Sarah Schnedier, Scott Jung, Justin Franks, Jerrod Bettis, Rhiannon Bryan
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Andrew Dismukes
Self (archive footage)
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Chloe Fineman
Self / Margaret Jo McCullin / Various
