There’s an undeniable fact that the age of the movie star is essentially ᴅᴇᴀᴅ. Getting a specific actor for a movie no longer guarantees a certain level of box office success (though, in reality, it never did). Just look at the box office for A Big Bold Beautiful Journey. It’s Margot Robbie’s first movie since Barbie, and the movie is struggling to reach $20 million worldwide.

So maybe it isn’t surprising that some people think AI actors are the answer. And, sure enough, the reveal of Tilly Norwood is getting a lot of press (most of it, rightfully, bad). Now, for bean counters, the idea of an actor who never ages, never demands script changes, and never misses their mark may sound like heaven, but the reality is vastly different. AI actors will, almost certainly, destroy the last thing that makes people pay attention to the movies.

The Human Element

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These days, trailers are all but meaningless. Sure, we still need them, and they surely get a segment of the theater-going public interested in a movie, but they don’t sell the audience alone. And that, in itself, isn’t new. The talk show circuit and the interviews leading up to a movie release are as old as time, and for good reason: that’s what people really connect to. And today, they’re more important than ever.

It used to be that if someone missed Burt Reynolds on The Tonight Show, they could only hear about the wild antics Burt and Johnny Carson got up to. But today, those moments go viral, spreading across social media and building greater interest not just in the movie, but in the actors. These short clips have become the primary marketing strategy for big and small movies. They allow the audience to see the actors as real humans. It endears them to us (and, unfortunately, also tends to create parasocial relationships, but that’s an article for another day).

This summer, clips of David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, and Nicholas Hoult spread far and wide. People loved their chemistry. People loved seeing Corenswet mispronounce SZA. They loved seeing Brosnahan try to explain internet slang to the new Superman. They loved seeing Hoult’s dry British wit bounce off Brosnahan’s quick sense of humor. They loved to see these three actors goof around. And with good reason, Corenswet, Brosnahan, and Hoult appear to get along genuinely, and seeing three people have a true moment makes us connect with them.

And this is where the question comes in: how can AI like Tilly Norwood create a true moment?

The answer is simple. It can’t. And that’s why it will never work.

Tilly Norwood can’t go on H๏τ Ones. Tilly Norwood can’t take a lie detector test with Seth Rogen asking the questions. Tilly Norwood can’t go on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and tell us a funny story about what happened to it in the airport. We can not, in any way, shape, or form, ever truly connect with Tilly Norwood. And that, above all else, is why it won’t work.

And yes, we all know that people connect to animated characters all the time. But even there, and perhaps even more importantly in these cases, we can feel the humanity of the animated character because of the human(s) behind it. Not just the animators, but the voice actors, too. Roger Rabbit works because of what Charles Fleischer’s voice brings to the character. I doubt that Pokémon would be as mᴀssive as it is if it weren’t for Ikue Ôtani’s take on Pikachu. And to this day, people hear Kevin Conroy’s voice when they think of Batman.

The Data Of It All

One of the most famous AI characters in all of fiction is Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation. With an android body that mimics the look of a human (it can even age!) and a positronic brain, Data is able to do anything a human can, but better. He’s faster. He’s stronger. He’s smarter. He’s even amazing at playing musical instruments.

But there is one thing Data is missing: a soul. This is explained to Data by his bandmates in the episode “The Ensigns of Command.” As they explain to the lovable Lieutenant Commander, even though Data can hit every note perfectly, there’s no emotion in what he is doing. Data is, as his name suggests, science, and science needs to be perfect to work. But art isn’t a science, and the imperfection is what makes it work.

Or, more simply, the human element is what makes art. That means imperfections, the fears, the doubts, the failures, and, most importantly, the successes. Without all of that, then we are just data.

Actors, even when we don’t see their faces, breathe life into the roles they play because of their lived experiences. They do things that the writers, directors, and producers would never have imagined, and these little things (or sometimes huge things) can turn a good story into a great one. And if you doubt that, just ask Steven Spielberg, who knew he had a great moment on his hands when Roy Scheider adlibbed “You’re gonna need a bigger boat” in Jaws.

Tilly Norwood will never, and can never, come up with that line. Do you know why? Because that line was an ongoing joke on the set of Jaws. It was something the crew would say whenever they wanted to goof on the producers’ cheapening out the craft services boat. But Tilly Norwood can never hang around with the crew and hear their gripes. It can’t have that lived experience and bring it to the role. And it can’t tell that story on a talk show.

So, how do you promote a movie with AI actors? The first one is simple enough. The idea of a cast that includes an AI actor, or is all AI actors, is probably enough to garner some attention from audiences. But what happens once the curiosity is gone? What does a studio do when people see past the new thing and move on? What happens when AI actors, and we really should be putting “actors” in quotes, go the way of 3D?

Sure, movies are still put out in 3D, but aside from the Avatar series, does anyone really care? It sure doesn’t seem like it these days. It had a moment, and then the moment pᴀssed, and the thing that really matters when it comes to good movies rose back up: the human connection. You don’t have to take my word for it. Just see a movie at your local AMC and Nicole Kidman will tell you all about it.