{"id":1545,"date":"2026-04-09T13:11:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T13:11:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/1545\/"},"modified":"2026-04-09T13:11:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T13:11:09","slug":"ai-actors-platform-twinnin-divides-opinion-in-film-tv-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/1545\/","title":{"rendered":"AI Actors Platform Twinnin Divides Opinion In Film & TV Industry"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tEXCLUSIVE: A platform for actors that aims to \u201cprotect and monetise human identity in the age of artificial intelligence<\/a>\u201d launches officially today, but many in the UK film and TV industry have been debating the merits of Twinnin<\/a> for weeks.<\/p>\n

\n\tBacked by Google and Nvidia, Twinnin clones an actors face, creating an \u201cidentity record\u201d secured with what it terms \u201cimmutable provenance technology.\u201d That likeness can then be sold on to studios or brands for use in shows, movies or ads. The platform is run by AI<\/a> Kat, a technology company backed by VC funding from Google and Nvidia, both of which Twinnin founder Katrien Grobler tells us approve and have signed off on Twinnin. Actors can sign up for $14.99 per year to post their digital likeness on the app and receive callouts. Studios or brands can subscribe to a number of different tiers, with the enterprise tier, which Grobler says meets industry standard in terms of AI guardrails, costing $1,200 per month. The cheapest, the creator tier, is $499 per month.<\/p>\n

\n\tFar from preventing actors from getting work, Grobler\u2019s feeling is that Twinnin, which she says \u201cbridges the gap between AI and human,\u201d is embracing the future now by protecting them today. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe are allowing you to own your identity in the age of AI,\u201d she told us prior to launch. \u201cThe rules of engagement have changed and as they change humans need to be more assertive about their likeness because in the age of the internet, we have been giving it away for free.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tGrobler added that, \u201cin a court of law, Twinninn proves that you have licensed your face and it belongs to you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tGrobler has spent the past year or so working on digital twins and she tells us she had her Twinnin lightbulb moment over Christmas. It has taken her and the AI Kat team just three months to get from lightbulb to launch. \u201cLike Uber and Spotify, I think this is something that people didn\u2019t know until they needed it,\u201d she added. \u201cWe are getting ahead of the curve. Everyone has ethics until their P&L [profit and loss] is affected. So I thought we should create a platform where applicants can license their face in an ethical, consensual way.<\/p>\n

\n\tCritics and fans<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\n\tWord about Twinnin spread in the weeks leading up to launch. Unsurprisingly, when actors, agents, producers and union officials got wind of the soon-to-launch app, it became a hot-button issue.<\/p>\n

\n\tThat conversation was buttressed by one agency, Lacara, promoting Twinnin to clients including the parents of actors under the age of 18.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe believe if AI is going to use human likeness \u2014 it should be real humans, properly protected and compensated, not synthetic AI bots,\u201d said a note from Lacara to some of its clients on the Spotlight casting platform, seen by Deadline. \u201cSign up the whole family and earn whilst protecting your likeness.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tDeadline can reveal that some actors complained about receiving this promotion and Spotlight subsequently issued a disclaimer to its subscribers, \u201curging all members to exercise extreme caution before uploading data or likenesses to any third-party platforms.\u201d \u201cWhile we\u2019re always keeping an eye on new tech, Spotlight has not partnered with or vetted Twinnin or any other third-party AI likeness services,\u201d read the note, which we have also viewed.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhen contacted by Deadline, Lacara boss Anya Taylor stressed that her agency is \u201cnot in partnership with Twinnin\u201d but is \u201csimply offering it as an optional platform.\u201d \u201cThere is absolutely no requirement for any client to sign up, and it is not a condition of representation,\u201d she said. \u201cWe believe it is better to engage with these\u00a0coming\u00a0AI changes responsibly rather than ignore them. By doing so, we aim to help safeguard real people within the industry, ensuring they remain part of its future rather than being replaced.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tWhat really set alarm bells ringing was that Lacara mostly works with child actors. <\/p>\n

\n\tThe Agents of Young Performers Association, a group of child actor agencies whose members have repped the likes of Adolescence star Owen Cooper, said cloning an under-18s likeness \u201craises serious ethical questions around the consent of a minor\u201d while \u201cpresenting potential safeguarding risks, including the misuse, manipulation, or unauthorised replication of a young person\u2019s likeness now and in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThere is also the question of licensing and compliance with legislation protecting children at work,\u201d added an AYPA<\/a> statement. \u201cWe believe addressing these concerns is essential to protect young performers within our industry.\u00a0Given these concerns, we would urge parents to not sign their children up to participate in such initiatives at this time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tTwinnin founder Grobler said the platform has \u201cvery clear guardrails\u201d for child actors and only those who sign up for the most expensive enterprise tier will have access to under 18s. \u201cI will personally have a Zoom call with anyone who wants to upload a minor\u2019s likeness,\u201d she added. \u201cNothing around children will be automated and we will never show a child on our platform, only avatars.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tIt remains to be seen whether Grobler can convince the naysayers. Her app launches with AI one of the biggest industry talking points of a generation, with AI actors like Tilly Norwood <\/a>and her \u201cTillyverse\u201d claiming plenty of column inches. More than two years after SAG-AFTRA secured landmark AI guardrails in the States, UK actors union Equity<\/a> has still not struck a deal <\/a>with producer trade body Pact. The union most recently balloted members over whether they would be prepared to\u00a0refuse\u00a0digital scanning\u00a0on set to secure adequate AI protections.<\/p>\n

\n\tOn Twinnin, Equity was nuanced, using the opportunity to instead criticize the pace of government reform as it said it continues to work towards \u201cintroducing new personality rights to give performers a clear route to protect their likeness.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWhile governments and producers stall, it is interesting to see companies emerging to meet the demand for protection, rights, transparency and consent for online use,\u201d a spokeswoman said of Twinnin. <\/p>\n

\n\tMore of Twinnin\u2019s ilk are springing up, Equity added. <\/p>\n

\n\tThe artificial intelligence goalposts appear to be moving once again.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"EXCLUSIVE: A platform for actors that aims to \u201cprotect and monetise human identity in the age of artificial…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1546,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[24,25,1882,1883,1734,1884],"class_list":{"0":"post-1545","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ai","8":"tag-ai","9":"tag-artificial-intelligence","10":"tag-aypa","11":"tag-equity","12":"tag-techline","13":"tag-twinnin"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1545","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1545"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1545\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1546"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1545"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1545"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1545"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}