When AI-generated actress Tilly Norwood was unveiled at the Zurich Film Festival last autumn, it sparked strong reactions. But director Manu Hendry sees it primarily as a PR stunt and is more curious about the real possibilities of AI in film.
In this episode of Schampar digital, Frank Richter talks to Dr. Manuel Hendry, screenwriter and lecturer at ZHdK and ETH, about the opportunities and risks of AI in the film industry. Manuel explains the areas in which AI is already being used creatively today and why he trusts in storytelling and empathy.
Instead of discussing the declaration of AI use, our guest sees a need for action elsewhere: How can low-income earners be protected from exploitation? What remains of the right to one’s own image when studios simply photograph people and then own the image forever? When will AI companies that simply suck up data for their models without paying for it finally be held accountable?
Also: how Netflix went from being a premium provider to an ‘everything streamer,’ why Matt Damon has to simplify dialogue for Netflix, how cinema has lost its interpretive authority, and what ‘AI slop’ means. An episode about labour rights and storytelling.
Event information
Film screening & panel discussion: Humans in the Loop
Wednesday, 26 February 2026, 5:15 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Kino Toni, ZHdK Toni-Areal
The film ‘Humans in the Loop’ (2024, directed by Aranya Sahay) tells the story of the people behind AI systems. The film reveals the often invisible human labour behind artificial intelligence, in particular the precarious work of ‘data labelling’ in India, where people tag thousands of images and videos to teach algorithms how to see.
After The Algorithm festival in Zurich
20 to 29 March 2026
Kulturhaus Helferei & Karl der Grosse
Our guest Manuel Hendry is not only a director and lecturer, but also the initiator and director of the ‘After The Algorithm’ festival. It uses art and science to make AI accessible to everyone, beyond technical jargon and hype. With 25 artworks, workshops, panel discussions, VR formats and an AI escape room, visitors can engage in a playful and critical way with the very computer systems we discuss in this episode.
Persons and projects mentioned in this episode
- Tilly Norwood: AI-generated actress, Wikipedia
- Hiltl advertising film (2025), directed by Tobias Fueter (Stories Studios), Youtube
- Andrej Karpathy on ‘Slopacolypse’: ‘I am bracing for 2026 as the year of the slopacolypse across all of GitHub, Substack, Arxiv, X/Instagram, and generally all digital media.’ Tweet on X from 26 January 2026
- Matt Damon and Ben Affleck talk about cinema vs. streaming on the Joe Rogan podcast (from around minute 11), Youtube
- Stephen King: ‘What is writing? Telepathy, of course’ in Stephen King (2000): On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft)
