Meet Victoria Shi: Ukraine's Foreign Ministry Introduces AI Spokeswoman

The Ukrainian foreign ministry employed a virtual artificial intelligence spokeswoman to provide updates on various issues, including the ongoing war with Russia. According to the Kyiv Post, the consular agent, Victoria Shi, is modelled after Ukrainian singer and influencer Rosalie Nombre, who agreed to participate in the ministry's project.

The Genesis of Victoria Shi

The ministry released a video of the virtual spokesman on X, the former Twitter, and said that the MFA's official website and social media outlets will feature her views. "Meet Victoria Shi, a digital representative of the MFA of Ukraine, created using AI to provide timely updates on consular affairs! For the first time in history, the MFA of Ukraine has presented a digital persona that will officially comment for the media," said the post on X.

👋 Meet Victoria Shi — a digital representative of the MFA of Ukraine, created using AI to provide timely updates on consular affairs!

For the first time in history, the MFA of Ukraine has presented a digital persona that will officially comment for the media. pic.twitter.com/KTtuCVR1ku

— MFA of Ukraine 🇺🇦 (@MFA_Ukraine) May 1, 2024

Costumed in a dark suit, the spokesperson introduced herself as Victoria Shi, a "digital person," in a presentation posted on social media. As she speaks, the spokeswoman makes hand gestures and head movements.

Shi says in the teaser video, "My name symbolises our main goal—the victory of Ukraine—and my last name—the artificial intelligence that created me. My work will consist of reporting operational and verified information of the consular department of the MFA of Ukraine to the public."

According to Dmytro Kuleba, the foreign minister of Ukraine, the new spokeswoman represents a "technological leap that no diplomatic service in the world has yet made." He claimed that "saving time and resources" for diplomats was the primary motivation behind her creation.

The Game Changers, a group that has also produced virtual reality videos about the conflict in Ukraine, are the people behind Shi.

Although Ukraine, which has a booming tech sector, has been digitizing its government institutions and procedures recently, the ministry's decision to use deepfake—AI technologies that use digitally created images or sounds that mimic reality—may be one of its riskiest actions to date.