Consider, for example, a panel held this past weekend at the Zurich Summit—the industry-focused side event of the ongoing Zurich Film Festival. The participants were Eline Van Der Velden, head of the AI video-production firm Particle6, and Verena Puhm, who leads the similarly focused company Luma AI. During an interview with Deadline about their recent wave of products, Van Der Velden made a striking claim: that her company Xicoia’s new “virtual actress, ” a set of AI-generated video and voice dubbed “Tilly Norwood, ” would soon be signed by a Hollywood agency. Van Der Velden, who describes Xicoia as a “virtual talent studio, ” didn’t provide details about which agency might make this potentially lucrative deal but gladly used the unproven statement to support a narrative she and Puhm were promoting—that filmmakers are gradually, sometimes covertly, warming up to AI’s role in movie and TV production. To be clear: This signing might indeed happen.

Hollywood talent agencies enjoy flashy publicity stunts just like anyone else, and the sheer PR buzz of “First agency to sign an AI ‘actor’!” could easily entice some into awkward situations. (For example, a few weeks ago, a relatively unknown record label called Hallwood Media grabbed headlines by signing an AI user named Telisha “Nikki” Jones, who employs generative AI tools to create music and visuals for a fictional artist called “Xania Monet. ”) However, it’s equally obvious that the narrative Van Der Velden and Puhm are pushing—highlighted by headlines like Deadline’s uncritical “Talent agents circle AI actress Tilly Norwood”—is so forceful precisely because the entire scheme depends on people buying into the hype. That’s how fads operate: a small bit of shine, fueled by a powerful fear of missing out, pushes people beyond common sense—after all, no one wants to be the last agency to sign their first AI actor, right?