For the first time in history, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has created a digital person using artificial intelligence technologies that will officially comment on consular information for the mass media.

The representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for consular affairs, Victoria Shea, is based on a real person - Ukrainian singer and influencer Rosalie Nombre, who agreed to participate pro bono in the project of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and act as a prototype for the representative. The project team photographed and digitized it.

It is important to note that the consular representative and her real-life prototype are two different persons, and only the digital person Victoria Shi speaks on behalf of the MFA consular service with official comments.

"My name symbolizes our main goal - the victory of Ukraine, and my last name - the artificial intelligence that created me. My work will consist in reporting operational and verified information of the consular department of the MFA of Ukraine to the public. I will inform journalists of news about the work of consuls in protecting the rights and interests of Ukrainian citizens abroad, responding to incidents or emergency situations and other news," said the representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Consular Affairs, Victoria Shi, in her congratulatory video message.

Victoria Shea's comments will appear on the official resources of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, the website and pages in social networks, and will also be transmitted to journalists by the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.

"The use of a digital person generated by artificial intelligence for consular commenting is primarily a saving of time and resources of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Real diplomats will be able to be more effective and focus on other tasks of providing assistance to citizens," said Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba.

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 introduction of advanced technologies using artificial intelligence in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. Diplomacy, not only in Ukraine, but throughout the world, has always been a conservative field that was the last to introduce innovations. We are changing that. Ukrainian diplomacy is now strengthening its capabilities and making a technological leap, which no diplomatic service in the world has yet made," the minister added.

It is important to note that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also provided several layers of protection for Victoria Shi against digital counterfeiting. Each original video of the consular representative has a QR code that leads to a text version of the same comment on the official page of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. If there is no such QR code or if you go to any other site, 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 Oleg Nikolenko's term in this position, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has already held a competition to fill this vacancy. Its winner has already been determined and is undergoing the necessary special inspection procedures.

The project of the consular AI representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine was implemented by the team of the NGO "The Game Changers" with the assistance of the NGO "Nazovni Tech". Previously, thanks to the partnership with the NGO "The Game Changers", a successful VR project of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine "Living the War" was already created, which, with the help of virtual reality glasses, immerses foreigners in any part of the world in the reality of Russian aggression against Ukraine and helps to consolidate support for our countries abroad.

We are grateful to our partners from the NGO "The Game Changers" and the NGO "Nazovni Tech" for their joint work on improving the effectiveness of Ukrainian diplomacy.