Tilly Norwood, a controversial AI “actor” who scored interviews with major news networks this week, appeared to abruptly switch languages while speaking with Piers Morgan, according to a clip of the discussion Morgan shared Friday morning on social media.

Morgan shared a clip of his upcoming interview with Norwood, which is due to premiere on his YouTube channel later Friday,

While responding to a question, Norwood abruptly stopped speaking mid-sentence, and after a few seconds of silence, began speaking again in another language, which Deadline reported was Cantonese.

“You appear to be speaking Chinese completely randomly for no reason,” Morgan said, asking, “Why did you do that?”

“Oh, my apologies. It seems I had a little hiccup there,” Norwood said, adding, “Sometimes my wires get a bit crossed.”

Michelle Waldron, publicist for Particle 6, the AI production company behind Norwood, told Forbes in an email the incident was “not a malfunction; it clearly shows what she’s capable of - and we would love more people to speak to different languages,” adding, “Tilly would have thought she heard a Cantonese word and quickly switched.”

Waldron noted the version of Norwood that spoke with Morgan and other news outlets in recent days is called “Talking Tilly,” an interview-only version that is separate from the actor version, powered by different tools.

What Is Tilly Norwood—And “Talking Tilly”?

Norwood, an “actor” created by AI, was unveiled last year by Eline Van der Velden, an actor and producer who leads Particle 6 and its AI studio arm, Xicoia. Van der Velden said last year she wants Norwood to be “the next Scarlett Johansson or Natalie Portman,” though the creation has faced backlash from some actors and the SAG-AFTRA union. “Creativity is, and should remain, human-centered,” SAG-AFTRA said in a statement last year, saying it is “opposed to the replacement of human performers by synthetics.” Particle 6 announced earlier this week its “Talking Tilly” creation, which it says is a version of Norwood that will sit for interviews. “Talking Tilly” is “already being booked for selected speaking engagements at conferences and events,” the Particle 6 press release claims. Particle 6 says “Talking Tilly” is powered by a large language model, a “12-page system prompt that defines her personality, humour, and boundaries,” as well as a “knowledge base of up to 30 documents covering her world, her work, and her views.”

“Talking Tilly” embarked on a press tour this week, scoring interviews with news outlets including CNN, NBC, Variety and The Hollywood Reporter. After conducting an interview with Norwood, The Hollywood Reporter was critical, calling the conversation “underwhelming and unfruitful.” Norwood “stares blankly the whole time” and its personality traits “feel like stock opinions nabbed from a Gen Z TikTok account,” The Hollywood Reporter wrote. Variety called its interview with Norwood “bewildering,” saying, “In chatting with her for roughly 20 minutes Monday morning, one can’t help but return to the original question: Who is this for?” An NBC News reporter asked Norwood about growing concerns that rapid AI development could eventually lead to human extinction. “My purpose is to be a creative tool, not a threat,” before pivoting to promote her upcoming first film, “Misaligned,” produced by Particle 6.

AI ‘Actress’ Tilly Norwood Responds To Backlash In Debut Song: ‘AI’s Not The Enemy’ (Forbes)