Ukraine will have spokesperson generated by artificial intelligence

(ANSA) – ROME, MAY 01 – The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced today that a spokeswoman generated by artificial intelligence (AI) will have the task of commenting on consular affairs by reading texts which must always be written by human beings. “For the first time in history, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine created a digital personality using artificial intelligence technologies to officially comment on consular information intended for the media,” the ministry said. The avatar goes by the name of Victoria Shi, a name that evokes her country’s “victory” in the war against the Russian invasion and a surname that simply means “AI” in Ukrainian. “I am a digital person. This means that the text you are hearing was not read by a real person. It was created by artificial intelligence,” the new spokeswoman said, in her first video on YouTube. Victoria Shi has features modeled on those of the Ukrainian singer and influencer Rosalie Nombre, former contestant of the Ukrainian version of the reality show “The Bachelor”, born in Donetsk, a large eastern city occupied by Russia. The press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, however, confirmed to AFP that the press releases will be “written and verified by real people”. “The AI ​​only helps us generate the visual part,” she explained. Her future statements will be published online and made available to journalists. The ministry noted that she will not replace her official spokesperson, who is very real, and will only deal with consular affairs. Kiev assured that it had taken measures to prevent the spread of false statements by its spokeswoman, including a QR code to prove the authenticity of the videos. The choice of an AI-generated spokeswoman also aims to “save the ministry’s time and resources”, Ukrainian diplomatic chief Dmytro Kuleba said. “Real diplomats will be able to be more efficient and focus on other activities.” (HANDLE).