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Hollywood has a new star, and they aren’t human. Also, is Xbox getting thrown in the trash? Let’s take a look. 👀
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What’s cookin’? An AI-generated “actress” named Tilly Norwood is set to star in an upcoming feature film called Misaligned. Tilly was created by the UK company Particle6, and unlike a normal animated character, she is being marketed almost like a real performer. The movie will reportedly follow Tilly as an AI being who starts developing desires, ambition, shame, and a sense of identity after meeting a rogue bot from the dark web. Particle6 says real writers, editors, and directors will still be involved, but AI will play a major role in bringing the character and film to life. Hollywood actors are pushing back hard, arguing that AI performers could be trained on human performances without permission and eventually compete with real actors for jobs.
🤔 Hunter’s take: This is where AI in entertainment starts to feel less theoretical. It’s one thing to use AI for editing, special effects, or brainstorming. It’s another thing to put an AI character in the starring role and treat it like talent. The big question is whether audiences will care that there is no real human life, emotion, or experience behind the performance.
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What’s cookin’? Microsoft is cutting 4,800 jobs immediately as it tries to reduce costs and refocus around artificial intelligence. The biggest hit is Xbox, which will lose about 20% of its staff, or roughly 3,200 people, with some cuts happening now and more coming through fiscal year 2027. Microsoft is also spinning off or selling several gaming studios, including Double Fine, Compulsion Games, Ninja Theory, and Undead Labs.
🤔 Hunter’s take: This is a big signal that even tech giants are being forced to choose what really matters. Microsoft is spending heavily on AI, but investors still want proof that those bets will pay off. Xbox may be popular culturally, but inside Microsoft, it looks less central to the future than cloud, AI tools, and enterprise software. This might also be an indication that Microsoft knows something about the future of gaming that the public doesn’t know yet.
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✍️ Meet the Author:
Hi — I’m Hunter, a PhD candidate whose work has appeared in major academic journals and popular tech outlets. I founded FryAI to make staying ahead of AI clear, accessible, and fun.