For the first time in history, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has created a digital personality using artificial intelligence technologies to officially comment on consular information for the media, the ministry’s press service reports.
“The Foreign Ministry’s representative for consular affairs, Victoria Shi, is based on a real person – Ukrainian singer and influencer Rosalie Nombre, who agreed to participate in the MFA project pro bono and act as a prototype for the representative. The project team filmed and digitized her. It is important to note that the consular representative and her real prototype are two different people, and only the digital person Victoria Shi makes official comments on behalf of the MFA’s consular service,” the statement said.
AI has already posted a congratulatory video message on the YouTube channel of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.
“My name symbolizes 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,” the statement reads.
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 transmitted to journalists by the MFA’s 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 to help citizens,” said Dmytro Kuleba, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.
The minister also emphasized that the active use of artificial intelligence technologies in the work of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs 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.
“The creation of a digital consular representative is part of a broader strategy for the systematic implementation of advanced technologies using artificial intelligence in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. Diplomacy, not only in Ukraine but also around the world, has always been a conservative sphere that was the last to innovate. We are changing this. Ukrainian diplomacy is now strengthening its capabilities and making a technological leap that no other diplomatic service in the world has ever made,” the minister added.
It is noted that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also provided several levels of protection for Victoria Shi from 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, a consular representative is not a substitute for a representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. After the expiration of the term of office of Oleg Nikolenko, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has already held a competition to fill this vacancy. The winner has already been selected and is undergoing the necessary special checks.
The AI consular representative of the MFA of Ukraine project was implemented by the team of The Game Changers NGO with the assistance of Nazovni Tech.
