AI ‘Actor’ Tilly Norwood Switches to Cantonese During Interview

AI-generated “actor” Tilly Norwood appeared to unexpectedly switch languages during an interview with Piers Morgan, prompting questions about the technology behind the virtual performer. A clip of the exchange was shared by Morgan on social media Friday ahead of the full interview’s release on his YouTube channel.

While answering a question, Norwood suddenly stopped speaking mid-sentence. Following several seconds of silence, she resumed speaking in another language, which Deadline identified as Cantonese. Morgan reacted to the unexpected change by asking why she had started speaking Chinese without explanation.

Norwood responded, “Oh, my apologies. It seems I had a little hiccup there,” before adding, “Sometimes my wires get a bit crossed.” Michelle Waldron, publicist for Particle 6, the AI production company behind Norwood, later told Forbes that the incident was “not a malfunction.” Waldron said the moment demonstrated Norwood’s ability to communicate in different languages and explained that she may have interpreted a word as Cantonese and switched languages.

Waldron also clarified that the version appearing in recent interviews is known as “Talking Tilly.” It is designed specifically for interviews and operates separately from the AI version created for acting, with the two versions relying on different tools.

Tilly Norwood was introduced last year by Eline Van der Velden, an actor and producer who heads Particle 6 and its AI studio Xicoia. Van der Velden previously said she wanted Norwood to become “the next Scarlett Johansson or Natalie Portman.” The AI performer has nevertheless faced criticism from actors and the SAG-AFTRA union. SAG-AFTRA said last year that “Creativity is, and should remain, human-centered,” while stating that it opposed replacing human performers with synthetic ones.

Particle 6 announced “Talking Tilly” earlier this week as an interview-focused version of Norwood. The company said the AI personality is already being booked for selected speaking appearances at conferences and events. According to Particle 6, the system combines a large language model with a 12-page system prompt defining Norwood’s personality, humor and boundaries, along with a knowledge base containing up to 30 documents about her fictional world, work and views.

The launch has been followed by a media tour that included interviews with CNN, NBC, Variety and The Hollywood Reporter. The Hollywood Reporter described its conversation with Norwood as “underwhelming and unfruitful,” while Variety called its roughly 20-minute interview “bewildering” and questioned the purpose of the AI personality.

During an NBC News interview, Norwood was also asked about concerns that accelerating AI development could eventually contribute to human extinction. She replied, “My purpose is to be a creative tool, not a threat,” before shifting the discussion toward her planned first film, “Misaligned,” which is being produced by Particle 6.