The creator of AI “actor” Tilly Norwood has admitted she made Norwood “as realistic as possible” to “provoke more of a reaction.”

Eline Van Der Velden, founder and CEO of AI company Particle6, gave some insight into the development of Norwood, who shook Hollywood when she was unveiled earlier this fall. “I wanted to create a character that we could use, because we didn’t want to infringe on anyone’s likeness,” said Van Der Velden, speaking at TV confab Content London. “We wanted to create an original character. That took months and months of — you know, [we] thought of the name and the character and who she was and what she looked like. And it’s, you know, 2000 iterations and really strange things to get to where we got.”

Expanding on those iterations, she said: “There were so many versions of her where she was too beautiful, or, you know, didn’t quite have that girl next door authenticity, right? And ultimately, that’s what made Tilly go around the world.”

However Van Der Velden’s creation quickly received backlash across Hollywood, with unions SAG-AFTRA and Equity along with numerous actors condemning Norwood, while “The Terminator” director James Cameron called the idea of AI performers “horrifying.”

Van Der Velden, who appeared to choose her words carefully as she spoke on the panel about AI on Thursday afternoon, said of Norwood: “I think she also represented a moment in time, I think, where the hit — the industry needed to look at itself and think, ‘Oh, hold on, this is where the tech’s at.’ And I think she showed that.”

Asked by the panel moderator whether the “photo realism” had helped her go around the world, Van Der Velden replied: “We thought about making a half robot … but I chose not to go in that direction because I felt, as an artist, you want to provoke a reaction in the audience, always, in my opinion, and we all agree, if you make content, we’re in this business, and I thought it would provoke more of a reaction if she is as realistic as possible.”

However Van Der Velden was keen to reassure the audience, made up of industry figures, that Norwood is not intended to replace performers. “She’s always meant to stay in the AI genre,” said the creator. “She’s not meant to take real actors’ jobs. That’s not the game. The whole point is this industry is going to grow and we’re developing.”

Bulgaria’s government withdrew an unpopular 2026 draft budget after tens of thousands of angry people took to the streets in the capital, Sofia, and other cities across the country.

The protests have been led mostly by young Bulgarians who claim the government is concealing widespread corruption. Business groups and members of the opposition also say the draft budget would harm Bulgaria’s economy just before it’s set to join the Eurozone in early 2026.

“Gen Z took to the streets because they want to stay in Bulgaria, but they want a renewed, different, corruption-free Bulgaria,” Daniel Lorer, member of Bulgaria’s parliament, told Fox News Digital.

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“They want reforms. The government refused to listen. The budget it proposed simply extended all its previous policies, funded through higher taxes, social security contributions and more debt,” Lorer added.

As the protests continued, Bulgaria’s government, led by Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov, eventually backed down, vowing to drop the most divisive elements of the budget, including tax and social security increases.

The prime minister said a new budget will be proposed at a later date.

“The government saw what the citizens who protesters had to say…I support these people who protest for more rights, more democracy, more justice. We believe that the protest is not so much political, but more of a social, human side, in search of more dialogue, more tolerance, and more harmony in social relations,” Prime Minister Zhelyazkov said at a press conference.

“This is a visible protest of young people, young people who are looking for their place in the future of Bulgaria, which we are obliged to hear, and we are obliged to do what is necessary to be secured with the funds that the country has,” Zhelyazkov added.

The protests were mostly peaceful. However, some masked protesters clashed with police after attacking offices of the ruling party in Sofia.

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Political stability in an EU country, one with a longstanding history with neighboring Russia, is ripe for Moscow’s usual tricks of intervening in the domestic affairs of its former communist bloc allies.

“Russia is always glad to stir unrest. Anything that upsets the democratic process in any EU country is welcome, and even more so in Eastern Europe, their former sphere of influence,” Lorer said.

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev, who holds a largely ceremonial position, sided with the opposition and opposed the budget, calling for the resignation of the government and early elections.

The move could risk political gridlock and weaken Bulgaria’s alliance with NATO allies and the EU, Ruslan Stefanov, director for the Center for the Study of Democracy in Sofia, told Fox News Digital.

“Radev, who echoes Kremlin talking points and opposes the Euro, could still sabotage the process despite it being legally irreversible. This is a volatile mix that threatens stability and could invite more unwelcome Russian meddling,” Stefanov said.

Bulgaria, along with Romania, is set to join the Eurozone in January 2026. While joining the Eurozone is seen as a major step in Bulgaria’s political and economic development, the adoption of the currency is unpopular in large segments of society, as fears of inflation and the cost of living hamper the livelihoods of everyday Bulgarians.

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Bulgaria, one of the poorest nations in the European Union, joined the EU in 2007 and formally began the process of joining the Eurozone in 2018. The Lev, Bulgaria’s currency, was included in the European Exchange Rate Mechanism in July 2020.

Since announcing that the country will join the monetary union, skepticism has abounded, and many Bulgarians are not convinced that their economic prospects will improve once they are part of the union.

Many experts and observers have concluded that Russia has been behind a persistent social media campaign to stoke opposition and sow doubt and confusion as Bulgaria’s accession date draws near.

By&nbspEuronews

Published on
04/12/2025 – 11:55 GMT+1

A post on X claiming that Denmark has introduced an IQ threshold of at least 85 for sperm donors has sparked confusion, debate and memes, but ultimately is misleading.

In reality, Denmark has no legal IQ requirement for sperm donors, although donors must go through a risk assessment interview and medical history review to check for any genetic risk factors.

The country, which is well known for its liberal sperm donation laws, has at least a dozen sperm-bank operations active, despite no definitive public registry.

The two largest that are internationally recognised are the European Sperm Bank and Cryos International, the latter described as the “world’s largest sperm and egg bank”.

Cryos International says its donors must be between 18 and 45 years old, be physically and mentally healthy, undertake legal and medical screening and live in Denmark whilst donating. A single donor can donate to up to 12 families under wider Danish regulations.

Only in 2011 did Cyros introduce another requirement for donors: red-haired donors were turned away because, the company’s founder said, the bank already had plentiful supplies.

The European Sperm Bank has the same age requirements, and says its donors are required to go through a “thorough screening process” that checks for serious hereditary diseases and sexually transmitted infections.

Whilst it’s untrue that all Danish sperm banks and the country of Denmark have IQ requirements, one does: Donor Network, a sperm bank headquartered in the city of Aarhus.

The Cube, Euronews’ fact-checking team, reached out to Donor Network, whose CEO confirmed that the sperm bank has an IQ threshold of 85 and rejects those with a criminal record from donating.

“As far as we know, we are the only bank in the world with these requirements,” CEO of Donor Network, Jakub Knudsen, told The Cube.

Confusion and memes stem from an article written in November by the Danish broadcaster DR, which highlights Donor Network.

In late November, a post containing a rewritten clip from the article was shared widely online, sparking speculation that Donor Network’s requirements expanded to the whole of Denmark.

Controversy abounds

Whilst social media is awash with memes around Donor Network’s requirements, the topic raises some ethical considerations.

According to DR, medical ethicists say screening donors for certain hereditary conditions reduces the likelihood of certain negative outcomes, such as between 2007 and 2018, when a Danish sperm donor with a pathogenic gene mutation that increased the risk of cancer conceived 52 children.

However, according to Daniela Cutas, associate professor of medical ethics at Lund University, screening potential donors for their IQ and criminal record is trickier, because it assumes a higher IQ and a lack of criminal record can be genetically determined.

Broad consensus says that while traits such as a parent’s IQ can influence a child’s intelligence, environmental factors play a major role in shaping a child’s cognitive development.

However, according to Knudsen, scientific literature shows that “IQ is a strong predictor of, not just academic success and income, but also mortality, risk of ADHD, etc. and has a high heritability of 50-80%.”

“We wouldn’t feel comfortable selling these individuals as donors, as we wouldn’t recommend them to our own patients,” he said.