Consular information from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will be officially commented by the AI avatar of the former “Bachelor” contestant
1 May 2024 12:23
ВІДЕО
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has introduced Victoria AI, a digital avatar designed to provide official information on consular matters. She works on the basis of artificial intelligence technologies and is an official spokesperson on consular issues, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports
The MFA spokesperson for consular affairs, Victoria Shi, is based on a real person – Ukrainian singer and former Bachelor contestant Rosalie Nombre, who agreed to participate in the MFA project pro bono and act as a prototype for the spokesperson. The project team filmed and digitised her.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted that the consular representative and her real-life prototype are two different people, and only the digital person Victoria Shi makes official comments on behalf of the MFA’s consular service.
“My name symbolises our main goal – the victory of Ukraine, and my surname is the artificial intelligence that created me. My job will be to provide the public with up-to-date and verified information from the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. I will inform journalists about the work of consuls to protect the rights and interests of Ukrainian citizens abroad, respond to incidents or emergencies, and other news,”
– said Victoria Shi, the MFA’s spokesperson for consular affairs, in her welcome video message.
Victoria Shi’s comments will be published on the official resources of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, its website and social media pages, and will be shared with journalists by the MFA press service.
“Using an AI-generated digital persona for consular commentary is primarily about saving time and resources for the MFA. Real diplomats will be able to be more effective and focus on other tasks of assisting citizens,”
– said Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba
The Minister also stressed that the active use of artificial intelligence technologies in the work of the MFA is not a whim, but a requirement of wartime. After all, in order to achieve the results necessary for the country, it is necessary to speed up all processes and be one step ahead.
It is important to note that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also provided several levels of protection for Victoria Shi against digital fakes. Each original video of the consular representative has a QR code that leads to the text version of the same commentary on the official website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In case of absence of such a QR code or transition to any other website, the video is not considered authentic.
In addition, the consular representative is not a substitute for the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. After the end of the term of office of Oleh Nikolenko, the MFA has already held a competition to fill this vacancy. The winner has now been selected and is undergoing the necessary special checks.
