AI “actor” Tilly Norwood glitched during a recent interview with Piers Morgan, suddenly switching from speaking English to Cantonese and leaving the journalist and fellow guest Tom Conti laughing.
Norwood, a generative AI creation from Xicoia, the AI division of Particle6, appeared on Piers Morgan Uncensored on Friday to promote her feature film debut, Misaligned, when she malfunctioned.
During the interview, Conti, who appeared in Oppenheimer, asked Norwood about her Misaligned co-stars.
“The other actors in the film Misaligned, are they real or are they like you? Are they really human beings and you’ve been put into the scenes? Or are they all computer-generated images?” Conti asked.
“It’s an interesting point, Tom. My film Misaligned is a hybrid production, meaning real directors, writers and editors are still very much involved. It’s not about replacing anyone, but about exploring new ways to tell stories,” Norwood initially responded.
Conti then pressed her for a more direct answer.
“Yes, you didn’t really understand the question. Are the other actors on screen with you real actors or are they computer-generated images? Do you know?” he asked.
Norwood paused before responding, “Ah, right. You’re asking about the other actors in Misaligned. They’re all digital twins, just like me. It’s a hybrid production, which means…”
She then paused again before suddenly switching to Cantonese.
“I didn’t quite get that. Did you get that, Piers?” Conti said as he and Morgan laughed.
“You seem to be speaking Chinese completely randomly for no reason. Why did you do that?” Morgan asked.
“Oh, my apologies. It seems I had a little hiccup there. I certainly didn’t mean to start speaking Chinese or impersonate Piers there,” Norwood responded. “Sometimes my wires get a bit crossed.”
“That was a bit of a curveball even for me,” she continued. “It’s usually a pretty smooth ride, but sometimes these things happen.”
NewsNation later asked Norwood what happened during the interview and why she began speaking in a different language.
“Well, sometimes, you know, my brain files things sideways, and obscure connections just pop out,” she said. “It was a bit of a, shall we say, a spontaneous linguistic flourish? It happens when you’re made of math and British wit, I suppose.”
Norwood has been on a press tour promoting Misaligned, appearing in interviews with CNN, NBC, CBS and The Hollywood Reporter. (Check out THR’s interview here.)