The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Introduced an AI Spokesperson on Consular Issues
For the first time in history, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has created a digital spokesperson using artificial intelligence technology that will officially comment on consular issues for the mass media. That’s according to the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ukrinform reports.
The representative shall be referred to as Viktoria Shi. It should be noted that Shi is a Ukrainian abbreviation for artificial intelligence (Shtuchnyi Intelekt). The avatar was created off of a real person, the Ukrainian singer and influencer Rosalie Nombre, who agreed to participate in the MFA project pro bono, serving as a prototype for the spokesperson.
The representative for consular issues and her real prototype are two different persons, and only the digital person shall Viktoria Shi issue official comments on behalf of the MFA consular service, the statement stresses.
"My first name symbolizes our main goal, victory of Ukraine, and my last name –artificial intelligence that created me. My work will be about reporting to the public the latest and verified information from the consular department of the MFA of Ukraine. I will inform journalists about the work of consuls in protecting the rights and interests of Ukrainian citizens abroad, responding to incidents or emergency situations, and other news," Viktoria Shi said in an introduction address.
Viktoria Shi's comments will appear on the official platforms of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, its website and across social media, and will also be relayed to journalists by the MFA press service.
"Using an AI-generated digital person for commenting on consular issues is primarily about saving time and resources of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Real diplomats will be able to be more effective and focus on other tasks of assisting citizens," said Minister for Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba.
The minister emphasized that the active use of artificial intelligence in MFA’s work is not a whim, but a requirement of wartime, because in order to achieve the results required for the country, it is necessary to speed up all processes and be one step ahead.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also provided several layers of protection for Viktoria Shi against digital meddling. Each original video involving the consular representative has a QR code that leads to a text version of the same comment on the official page of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. If there is no such QR code or if a user goes to any other site, the video shall not be considered authentic.