AI actress Tilly Norwood switches to Chinese mid-interview on Piers Morgan show, video goes viral

Tilly Norwood, an actress created using artificial intelligence (AI), is going viral for abruptly switching to speaking Chinese in the middle of an interview.

Tilly Norwood is a fictional character created with generative artificial intelligence and marketed as the world's first "AI actress". (Tilly Norwood Insagram)The incident happened during ‘Piers Morgan Uncensored’ when Norwood was answering a question posed by actor Tom Conti about her upcoming feature film Misaligned.

Conti asked: “Are the other actors on the screen with you real actors? Or are they computer-generated images?”

Norwood affirmed that the actors seen on the screen in the film were “digital twins” just like her, before switching to Cantonese, a variety of Chinese spoken in China's Guangdong province (historically called Canton), Hong Kong, and Macau.

Morgan picked up on the language switch and asked her, “You seem to be speaking Chinese completely randomly for no reason. Why did you do that?”

Norwood responded, claiming that she didn’t actually glitch out.

“It seems I had a little hiccup there … sometimes my wires get a bit crossed,” Norwood said. “That was a bit of a curveball even for me. It’s usually a pretty smooth ride, but sometimes these things happen.”

It’s worth noting that the version of Norwood that appeared on Piers Morgan's show is a separate, interview version called “Talking Tilly.”

In a statement to Deadline, Eline van der Velden, the founder and CEO of Particle6, said the AI actress’s language switch-up wasn’t actually a mistake. Particle6 is the company that created Norwood.

“Tilly can be a bit of a show-off — I’m guessing she just wanted to show her language skills, as most of her interviews to date have been in English. She is autonomous after all,” Velden said.

Tilly Norwood is a fictional character created with generative artificial intelligence and marketed as the world's first "AI actress".

Norwood was developed in 2025 by Xicoia, the AI division of the British production company Particle6 Group. Her creators state that her voice and face are entirely unique creations that were not based on or copied from any real human.

Norwood has sparked intense debate within the entertainment industry worldwide.

A press release from her creators claimed that talent agencies were looking to represent her. The release drew fierce criticism from Hollywood actors and organisations regarding personality rights and the threat of AI replacing human actors.

Her creators launched an interactive, interview-only version of the AI actress last month. This version went on a highly publicised media tour, participating in a press junket and appearing on several media outlets. The Piers Morgan interview was a part of the same media tour.

Shivam Pratap Singh is a digital journalist who works as a Deputy Chief Content Producer with Hindustan Times. Having previously worked with various platforms covering national, international as well as sports events, he blends in various topics to easy to read news pieces for the benefit of the reader. Shivam holds a Master's degree in International Relations from Jamia Millia Islamia, bringing in a unique perspective for whatever is happening around the world. An avid reader, he can be seen immersed in books and book shops while not working. Shivam treats every topic almost equally but loves to right about foreign affairs and politics of India. He has over half-a-decade of experience in digital journalism though his career started in print.Read More