The AI-generated “actor” Tilly Norwood suffered an embarrassing glitch during a live interview with British political commentator Piers Morgan, abruptly breaking into Mandarin mid-sentence before being cut off.
During the interview, Morgan’s guest, actor Tom Conti, asked Norwood whether the other actors in her films were real people or AI creations. The AI persona initially gave a confusing, hard-to-follow answer. When Conti repeated the question, Norwood began explaining that the other performers were “digital twins, just like me,” describing it as a “hybrid production,” before suddenly and inexplicably switching to rambling in Chinese. Both Morgan and Conti appeared visibly confused as the AI continued speaking before the segment was cut off.
When Morgan asked why Norwood had started speaking Chinese “completely randomly for no reason,” the AI apologised, saying it had experienced “a little hiccup” and that its “wires get crossed” sometimes. Pressed further on how often this happens during conversations with English speakers, Norwood said it was “not often at all,” calling it “a bit of a curveball, even for me.”
The incident comes amid a broader media push for Norwood, created by Particle 6 Productions. The AI persona was previously interviewed by CNN, in a segment that drew criticism for being an uncritical puff piece, with NBC, CBS and Sky News following up with similarly soft interviews.
This is not Norwood’s first controversial moment. In an earlier interview with Wired, the AI claimed that AI-generated films are beneficial for the environment, and when asked whether Black lives matter, responded instead with the phrase “all lives matter,” a slogan associated with dismissing concerns about systemic issues faced by minority communities.
The latest glitch adds to a growing list of missteps for the AI actor as it continues to be positioned by its creators as a potential fixture in the entertainment industry, raising fresh questions about the reliability and readiness of AI-generated personas for mainstream media appearances.
(Source: Futurism)
