World’s First AI-Powered Talking Statue Debuts in Times Square
This weekend, we introduced the world’s first AI-powered Talking Statue right here in Times Square, New York. It’s the statue of Father Duffy, standing proudly in the heart of Times Square — and now, he can talk.
Father Duffy has been speaking to visitors since 2017, thanks to our collaboration with the Times Square Alliance. But this weekend, we took a big step forward by switching to AI. That means Duffy can now actually answer your questions — even simple ones like where to grab lunch nearby.
The Talking Statues project began back in 2013 in Copenhagen, when we launched the first talking statue of H.C. Andersen. Since then, the project has spread worldwide. It was invented by documentary filmmaker David Peter Fox, who got the idea while walking with his kids in Kongens Have. At the start, you’d scan a QR code and hear the statue tell its story, but it couldn’t talk back. Now, that’s changed — including here in Times Square.
What’s important to us is that the statue can dive deeper into its story. It’s not just small talk. The Father Duffy statue was created to honor those who died in World War I, and that’s a topic you can now explore in depth with AI-powered Duffy. But he’s also curious about you — where you come from, your life experiences, even the tough moments when you lost something that held you together.
AI Talking Statues open up a world of new possibilities. One of the coolest features? Father Duffy speaks 10 different languages. That means he can effortlessly switch to Spanish, Chinese, Danish, or whatever you speak. Just ask him a question in another language, and he’ll respond in kind.
We’re incredibly proud of this new AI Talking Statue and excited to keep bringing cultural and historical insights to life with AI. Today, there are over 300 talking statues worldwide, and with AI, we expect many more to come.
If you’re near Times Square, stop by and have a chat with Father Duffy — he’s waiting to talk with you.
In the video above, you’ll see how the conversation starts when you scan the Father Duffy statue in Times Square. As always, it begins with a call, and then the statue starts talking. But unlike before, after a few minutes, the statue will ask you questions. You have the option to talk directly with Duffy or type a message, and he will respond. The call comes through, and you simply finish by saying goodbye to Father Duffy before hanging up. Using Talking Statues is completely free—you only pay for your normal data usage.
The idea of making statues talk with AI was invented in 2024 by David Peter Fox, the creator of Talking Statues. He knew this possibility was coming and started discussions with developers early on about how it could be done. Back then, nothing like this existed anywhere in the world. Using AI to bring culture to life wasn’t happening yet, especially not for statues, so this was pioneering work. From the start, he wanted to keep using QR codes, and from the beginning, we aimed to create the best possible flow—where the statue starts the conversation and even asks built-in questions. It was a great pleasure for him to see it finally work, and he’s very thankful to Times Square for giving him the opportunity to launch it there with Father Duffy.
On the technical side, the conversation runs through ElevenLabs and OpenAI. Your voice is converted to speech, and the AI generates the answers. The flow is quick and seamless. Give it a try!
