Ukraine has unveiled an AI which will now take on the functions of spokesperson.
This computer-generated female character will be responsible for reading texts originally signed by humans.
This is about saving “time and resources”, argue the Ukrainian authorities.
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How far will artificial intelligence go?
This is a surprising statement, to say the least, that the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has just made. He announced this Wednesday that a spokesperson generated by artificial intelligence (AI) would now be responsible for commenting on consular affairs. She will be responsible for reading texts which will remain previously written by humans.
“For the first time in history, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has created a digital personality using artificial intelligence technologies to officially comment on consular information intended for the media”declared the institution.
Texts that remain written by humans
The avatar that emerged was named Victoria Shi, a first name that evokes “victory” of his country in the war against the Russian invasion and a last name that simply means “AI” in Ukrainian. “I am a digital person. This means that the text you hear was not read by a real person. It was created by artificial intelligence”declared the new spokesperson in her first video, in the guise of a young mixed-race woman.
The press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs clarified that the communiqués would be “written and verified by real people”. And to emphasize that “artificial intelligence only helps generate the visual part”. Future statements are intended to be published online and made available to journalists. The Ukrainian authorities say that this AI would not replace their official spokesperson, who is very real. The latter will, however, be focused solely on the management of consular affairs.
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The ministry also explained that it had put in place measures to prevent the spread of false statements from its spokesperson, in particular a QR code intended to prove the authenticity of the videos. Designing an AI-generated spokesperson should also save money on a daily basis “ministry time and resources”.
Victoria Shi’s appearance will not be completely foreign to Ukrainian citizens, since it is inspired by that of a Ukrainian singer and influencer. Her name is Rosalie Numéro: born in Donetsk, she participated in the Ukrainian edition of the reality TV show “The Bachelor”.
