by Julia Griffin

“Tilly Norwood: how scared should we be of the viral AI ‘actor’? A bunch of code is being pushed
as the next Scarlett Johansson, a creation that is already causing pushback from real human actors”
—The Guardian

How scared should we be of this Tilly?
Myself, I’m enchanted by her:
Her simper is—possibly—silly,
Her teeth on occasion may blur,
But look how she’s prettily sitting,
Sweet face amid billowy hair:
No wonder her rivals are spitting,
And pushing to make her a scare!
They call her a composite starlet,
Or more of a smiling black hole,
A knock-off of Margot and Scarlett,
With code and electrics for soul;
It’s scary, they cry, that some fusion
Should land on our turf and lay claim,
As if we were just an illusion
Who look and behave all the same!
Her agents aren’t troubled. At present,
They say, she’s not ready to speak:
No doubt she won’t long be quiescent,
But surely they’ll grant her a week
For wordlessly clasping her kneecaps:
I’m sure that, promoted or banned,
She’ll give what we ask for (with recaps);
Already she cries on demand.