American union representing 160,000 performers. It went on strike for almost four months in 2023, in part over the use of artificial intelligence in film-making. In subsequent negotiations with Hollywood studios, the union has reportedly asked for royalties on the use of "synthetic" actors—a levy dubbed the "Tilly tax" after Tilly Norwood, known as the world's first AI-generated actress.
Natural selection saw to it that professional heroes who at a crucial moment tended to ask themselves questions like "What is my purpose in life?" very quickly lacked both.