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Hollywood stars are calling an AI actress “terrifying,” as unions warn of contracts already under threat. In Redmond, Microsoft is asking if Excel can think for itself. Elon Musk is taking shots at Wikipedia with a plan for “Grokipedia.” And Amazon is turning Alexa into something closer to an agent than a voice.
📌 In today’s Generative AI Newsletter:
AI actress Tilly Norwood sparks backlash in Hollywood
Microsoft gives Excel and Word “Agent Mode”
Elon Musk announces Grokipedia project
Amazon rolls out Alexa+ with new agentic features
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Actors Call AI Actress Tilly Norwood “Terrifying” Amid Union Warnings
Image Credit: Particle 6
An AI creation named Tilly Norwood has set off a firestorm in Hollywood after reports surfaced that talent agencies are considering signing her. On Instagram, Norwood looks like a new face on the audition circuit, complete with staged photos, sketches, and a self-description of “girl next door vibes.”
Here’s what’s happening:
Actors push back: Emily Blunt called the AI “terrifying,” Natasha Lyonne demanded boycotts of any agency that signs her, and Whoopi Goldberg dismissed synthetic performers as easy to spot.
Union alarm: SAG-AFTRA condemned Norwood, saying she is “not an actor” but a character trained on stolen performances, warning that use in projects could breach contract protections won in the 2023 strikes.
Creator’s defense: Dutch comedian Eline Van der Velden, insists the project is “a piece of art” and should be judged as its own genre. She envisions Norwood as a potential “Scarlett Johansson for AI.”
Industry context: AI was the flashpoint of Hollywood’s strikes two years ago. The fear now is that synthetic characters like Norwood could undercut human livelihoods while still relying on human artistry as training data.
Tilly may only exist on Instagram today, but her debut has already escalated the standoff between Hollywood and AI. Whether she ends up on screen or fades as a provocation, the episode exposes how quickly “art experiments” can cross into the labor politics of film.
Microsoft Turns Excel Into a Self-Running Spreadsheet
Image Credit: Microsoft
Microsoft is weaving deeper AI into its Office suite with Agent Mode for Excel and Word, plus a new Office Agent in Copilot chat. The pitch is simple: let Copilot handle multi-step tasks like an in-house assistant while users steer.
Here’s what’s rolling out:
Excel on autopilot: Agent Mode can build financial models, calculators, or budgets by reasoning through formulas, generating sheets, and checking its own outputs.
Word as a collaborator: Drafts reports, edits summaries, and cleans up formatting in a back-and-forth style that feels closer to co-writing than one-shot outputs.
PowerPoint via chat: Office Agent pulls from Anthropic’s models to assemble decks from a single prompt, mixing research, visuals, and structure.
Everyday use cases: From small businesses building cash-flow sheets to managers pulling quick executive summaries, the features aim to democratize the expertise usually reserved for power users.
The upgrade shows Microsoft betting that “agentic” AI will be the next layer of productivity software. But while Copilot can now build your spreadsheet, the open question is whether workers will actually trust an AI-driven Excel to get the numbers right.
Musk Wants to Replace Wikipedia With ‘Grokipedia’
Credit: Getty Images
Elon Musk says his AI company xAI is building “Grokipedia,” an open-source encyclopedia to rival Wikipedia, after blasting the platform as “Wokipedia.” He claims it will be “a massive improvement” and “a necessary step toward understanding the universe.”
The backstory:
The jab: Musk and allies like David Sacks and Chamath Palihapitiya accuse Wikipedia of bias and “one-sided censorship.”
The plan: Grokipedia, named after xAI’s chatbot Grok, would be a knowledge repository “with no limits on use.”
The feud: Musk previously offered to buy Wikipedia for $1B — on condition it rebrand as “Dickipedia.”
The pushback: The Wikimedia Foundation responded that Wikipedia is built on neutrality and volunteer oversight, not persuasion.
Whether Grokipedia actually materializes or just joins Musk’s museum of half-baked side projects is anyone’s guess. For now, it’s less about building an encyclopedia and more about Musk making himself the curator of “truth” which might be the biggest edit war of all.
Amazon’s Alexa+ Wants to Be More Than a Voice
Image Credit: Amazon
Amazon has rolled out a new wave of Echo speakers, Ring cameras, Fire TVs, and Kindles built for Alexa+, its generative AI assistant. The upgrade pushes Alexa into more conversational territory while layering AI into everyday products.
What’s new in Alexa+:
Smarter Echo: New chips handle AI processing on-device, with sharper voice detection that adapts to people and rooms.
Ring upgrades: Features like Familiar Faces, Alexa+ Greetings, and Search Party turn the doorbell into a door attendant and pet finder.
Kindle AI: Readers now get AI-powered notetaking and summaries.
Fire TV integration: Alexa+ guides movie picks, expands search, and links deeper into smart home controls.
Autonomous actions: Agentic features let Alexa+ book services online or arrange repairs without constant prompts.
The update shows Amazon’s steady pivot from voice assistant to AI agent, but the rollout feels evolutionary rather than transformative. With Apple still holding back its AI play, Alexa+ may buy Amazon time yet in a field racing ahead, time is the one thing assistants no longer have.
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