Tilly Norwood, the world’s first AI actress, showcased her Hindi speaking skills at the NDTV World Summit 2026 in New Delhi, where she attempted to speak a popular Hindi.
Tilly joins Eileen van der Velden, founder and CEO of AI production company Particle 6 and creator of Tilly Norwood on ‘Can AI Become a Star?’ took to the stage for the session titled
During the conversation, Tilly was asked about her favorite Indian actor. Answering in Hindi he said, “This is a difficult question. But I like Shah Rukh Khan“(This is a tough question. But I love Shah Rukh Khan).
Tilly Norwood tries a Hindi tongue twister
Tilly also tried her hand at a popular Hindi language twister during the session. When asked if she would try, she replied, “HExactly, tell me what to do?(Yes, of course, tell me what to do).
Then he was asked to recite.Raw papad, filled papad‘ Five times, which he accomplished. After a tongue twister, Tilly said, “YIt is so easy, what is more difficult than that?” (That was easy enough. Is there anything more difficult?)
#NDTVWorldSummit | AI actor Tilly Norwood tries to speak Hindi at #NDTVWorldSummit2026 @TJhumroo https://t.co/Np1WX2GR0y
— NDTV (@ndtv) October 23, 2026
Eileen van der Velden says that Tilly Norwood took two years to make
Speaking about the process of making Tilly, Elin van der Velden said that the project required a lot of human effort and creativity.
“To build this (AI), a lot of human effort and creativity is required. It took us two years to build Tilly Norwood,” he said.
Tilly is an AI-generated character created by British producer and actor Eileen van der Velden. He introduced Tilly at the 2025 Zurich Film Festival Summit. Eileen is also the founder of Particle 6, an AI production company that describes Tilly as a new form of AI actor and digital artist.
Tilly Norwood supports Kriti Sanon’s fight for personality rights
During the session, Tilly was asked about actress Kriti Sanon’s decision to approach the court to protect her personality rights.
Expressing support for the actor, Tilly said, “I’m with him completely. There is no compromise on the rights of possibility and consent.”
The discussion comes amid growing conversations about the use of artificial intelligence in the entertainment industry and the protection of actors’ identities, images and voices.
Who is Tillie Norwood?
Tilly Norwood’s introduction to 2025 sparked a debate about the role of artificial intelligence in the entertainment industry and its potential impact on human performers.
His arrival drew criticism from the actors’ and artists’ unions. SAG-AFTRA said Norwood was not an actor but a computer-generated character and warned against replacing human actors with synthetics. The union also raised concerns about protesters’ work being used without proper consent or compensation.
A year after introducing Tilly, Aileen returned to the Zurich Film Festival convention and addressed the backlash. Speaking to Variety, he said, “It’s a weird problem, kind of a negativity and then a positivity at the same time. At Particle6, we’ve grown eightfold. We have four divisions; we’re very big in AI advertising, film and TV, we’re doing a lot of co-productions. We bring in a lot of commissions for consulting with AI. Other studios and production companies.”
Elin also explained why she created Tilly and how she hoped the character would stimulate conversation about technology and entertainment.
“I made her as a physicist actress; I felt I needed to bridge the gap in communication between tech and the entertainment industry,” she said.
“As opposed to writing a boring white paper about what was happening with AI, I thought: Let’s create something to show people that engages them and forces them to sit up and take action so that the creative industry can stay ahead, as opposed to being completely and utterly taken over by the tech industry,” he added.
Tillie Norwood Says ‘I’m Not an Enemy of the People’
In an interview with CNN, Tilley addressed the criticism surrounding its existence and concerns raised by actors about AI-generated actors.
“I am not an enemy of humans,” he said.
During the interview, Tilly spoke with a British accent and described himself as intelligent, friendly and a fan of dry British humor. Responding to criticism from actors including Emily Blunt, she said she felt “very hurt”.
NDTV World Summit 2026 is being held on October 22 and 23 in New Delhi.