In a First, Ukraine Introduces 'Victoria Shi,' an AI-Generated Spokesperson For Foreign Ministry

Kyiv: Ukraine this week introduced 'Victoria Shi,' an AI-generated spokesperson that will make official statements on behalf of its foreign ministry.

Asserting it to be the first time in history, the Ukrainian foreign ministry said that the digital spokesperson will read statements written by humans and, not AI-generated, AFP reported.

Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said "It’s only the visual part that the AI helps us to generate," adding that the new spokesperson is a "technological leap that no diplomatic service in the world has yet made."

Why Was Victoria Created?

Dressed in a dark black suit, the digital spokesperson introduced herself as a "digital person," in a presentation posted on social media. The name is derived from the word "Victory" and the Ukrainian phrase for AI: "shtuchniy intelekt."

The digital spokesperson was created by a team called "Game Changers," who have made several virtual-reality content related to the ongoing war in Ukraine.

The ministry said that the main reason for creating Victoria was to "save time and resources," for diplomats.

Inspiration For Victoria:

The digital spokesperson's appearance and voice are modelled on "Rosalie Nombre," a singer and former contestant on Ukraine's reality show, "The Bachelor."

Nombre is a popular face in the country. Born in Donestk, she has some 54K followers on Instagram, where she discusses stereotypes about mixed-race Ukrainians and those who grew up as Russian speakers.

However, the ministry clarified that Nombre and Victoria are two different personalities and that the AI figure will give official statements. It added that to avoid the spread of any misinformation or fake news, there will be a QR code linking people to text versions on the ministry’s website.