Tilly Norwood AI ‘actor’ goes off-script on TV interview, switches to Mandarin

Tilly Norwood, an AI-generated actress, surprised British broadcaster Piers Morgan during an interview after she suddenly stopped speaking and switched to Mandarin.Norwood was answering a question about Misaligned, a hybrid production, when she paused mid-sentence. After several seconds of silence, she began speaking in another language.Morgan, appearing surprised by the switch, told her: “You appear to be speaking Chinese completely randomly for no reason.” He then asked why she had done it.Norwood apologised and described the incident as a technical hiccup.“Sometimes my wires get a bit crossed,” she said.Morgan shared a clip of the exchange on X ahead of the full interview’s scheduled release on his YouTube channel.But Norwood is not a conventional actress. She is an AI-generated character created by British actor and producer Eline Van der Velden, who heads the AI company Particle 6 and its studio Xicoia.Van der Velden has previously said she wants Norwood to become a major entertainment figure, comparing her ambitions for the character with stars including Scarlett Johansson and Natalie Portman.The version of Norwood appearing in recent interviews is known as “Talking Tilly”. Particle 6 says it was created specifically for interviews, conferences and other speaking engagements and is separate from the version used for acting.Talking Tilly uses a large language model along with a 12-page system prompt that sets out her personality, humour and boundaries. It also has access to a knowledge base containing up to 30 documents about her fictional world, work and views.Michelle Waldron, a publicist for Particle 6, said in an email to Forbes that the incident showed Norwood’s ability to speak different languages. She suggested that Norwood may have heard what she interpreted as a Chinese word and quickly switched languages.Particle 6 has said Talking Tilly is already being booked for selected speaking engagements at conferences and events.The unexpected exchange has drawn attention to the technology behind AI-generated performers, particularly how they respond during unscripted conversations. Unlike a scripted performance, interviews require an AI system to process questions and generate responses in real time while maintaining a consistent character.Norwood’s brief switch to Mandarin has therefore become an unusual example of the challenges that can emerge when AI characters are used outside controlled performances.The clip also drew reactions from viewers online. One user wrote: “This is insane not long before AI will be indistinguishable from reality.”Another user compared the incident with their own experience using ChatGPT, writing: “ChatGPT does this with me too. He will either flip from a British to an American accent, or sometimes an entirely different language altogether.”Catch the latest World News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.