Diplomat with artificial intelligence
What are the advantages and disadvantages of the new spokeswoman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Victoria ShI?
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, which took a liking to digital diplomacy with the arrival of a new team, has outdone itself this time. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs introduced a spokesperson created by artificial intelligence, named Victoria, who will make official statements on his behalf. More precisely, Victoria introduced herself, addressing journalists and the general public. She promised to promptly and qualitatively inform the general public on consular issues. She drew attention to the QR code that accompanies her video and sends users to the text versions of the statements on the ministry’s website. According to the developers, this should protect users from fakes and manipulations.
“Ukrainian diplomacy is now strengthening its capabilities and making a technological leap that no diplomatic service in the world has made so far”, – said Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba.
The press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs assured that the AI statements were not generated by artificial intelligence, but “written and tested by real people”. This is a way to save the resources of diplomats, which in wartime should be spent on more serious tasks than communicating with the public.
The prototype of the digital speaker of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was a singer and former participant of a reality show “Bachelor” Rosalie Nombre. What is known about her? The girl was born in Donetsk, has an Instagram account with 54,000 followers, discusses pressing social issues, in particular, those related to language and skin color. She took part in the MFA project for free.
Radio Svoboda journalist Ray Furlong interviewed Victoria Shea, where he inquired about its uniqueness and functionality. The digital speaker reported that, unlike people, she can work without sleep, speak dozens of foreign languages and always looks good in the morning. The journalist also touched on the question that is obvious to everyone: why exactly now and why exactly on consular issues does the Ministry of Foreign Affairs instruct to say no “alive” spokesperson, and digital? “The suspension of consular services for men of draft age is a technical and temporary measure. Internal procedures must be brought into line with the new mobilization law. After that, we will continue to accept new applications.”, – answered Victoria in a charming voice.
The general public, which was targeted by the digital experiment of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, reacted ambiguously. Many of the comments under Victoria’s presentation video refer to the artificiality and syntheticity of the generated image, which does not inspire trust, and inappropriate power games with technology. However, there are positive reviews welcoming the digital breakthrough of Ukrainian diplomacy.
So what “thinks” in this regard, the artificial intelligence itself, which Ukrainian diplomats “hired” to optimize their work?
We talked about this with the GPT chat, which laid out the advantages and risks of digital innovation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Positive aspects:
International appeal: The introduction of a digital spokesman can attract the attention of the international community and strengthen the image of Ukraine as an advanced country that uses innovative technologies in the field of communications.
Reducing the burden on diplomats: Using an AI dictionary can free diplomats from the need to participate in communication activities, allowing them to focus on other aspects of their work.
Reaction speed: Using a digital avatar will allow you to quickly respond to events and inform the public without the delays associated with the preparation and editing of a video recording with a live speaker.
Stability and consistency: A digital speaker can ensure consistency in communication and avoid subjective differences in the performances of different speakers.
Possibilities of personalization and adaptation: A digital speaker can be easily adapted to different audiences and situations by changing the language, tone of voice or appearance.
He named AI and the risks of the innovative project of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Depopulation of the speaker of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Atypical movements, monotonous voice, “inanimate” facial expressions – all this does not contribute to communication with the public and trust in the messages of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In Ukraine, the culture of communication with digital avatars has not yet been formed, so the attitude towards them will be burdened with certain cautions.
Risks of forgery and manipulation. This is a significant risk, especially in the conditions of an information war, because manipulators can fake a video, a QR code, and the page of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to which it will redirect the user. And therefore there is a threat of dissemination of any false information on behalf of the AI-spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In addition, it is unlikely that people with insufficiently formed media critical thinking will remember this caveat when they listen to some short trash messages from a fabricated AI girl who looks like Victoria.
Risks of discredit. The prototype digital spokesperson can be discredited in society, so a stain on his reputation can affect the perception of the digital “branch”.
The technological initiative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was enthusiastically received by the world press. Victoria AI was named the world’s first digital diplomat. However, the field of application of artificial intelligence – consular issues, which were considered too sensitive for communication experiments – was not left out of the journalists’ attention. A rhetorical question has also arisen: is the AI-spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs talking about technology or avoiding responsibility in a difficult period?
