A virtual AI police chief has been introduced in Osaka Prefecture, following a rise in imposter scams, with local police hoping that "AIko" will raise public awareness of such fraud, especially among younger generations.
AIko, whose name combines "AI" and "ko," the Japanese suffix attached to female names, has the voice and appearance of a young woman. She is warning through the prefectural police's YouTube channel about scams spreading among not only the elderly population, but also people in their 20s to 60s.
Victims have been swindled out of money by scammers posing as police officers, investment-promoting celebrities or romantic partners, for example, according to the police.
AIko made her debut in a clip released in late May, showing actual examples of scam tactics and online exchanges between scammers and victims.
"No police officers show their IDs and arrest warrants online," she said in the video dubbed "Chief AIko's crime prevention class."
People aged 64 or younger accounted for nearly half of the victims of such scams in the prefecture last year, according to preliminary data released by the police.
Toshinori Hirano, a visiting professor at the Kagawa University Cyber Security Center who had been assisting the police long before he created AIko, said he hopes to "heighten crime prevention awareness by utilizing technology."
© KYODO
13 Comments
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SwissToni
Ironic…
sakurasuki
If good guy can use AI, bad guy can use that too right?
divinda
Sad that the only way a younger woman can be a Japanese police chief would be in a virtual world.
Monty
An A.I. Beauty!
Politik Kills
Of course she is a cute young woman doing the ‘ganbare’ fist and puffing of cheeks.
Anyway, the irony is screaming!!!
tora
The other irony is that Aiko herself is not even a real police officer, or even human.
YeahRight
So, using an imposter to warn about imposters. Someone didn't think this through very well.
IVO
possible only in Japan.
AI police officer warning about AI scams.what a strange world we live in.
Wasabi
Is it an virtual AI or a police chief?
Cant be both!
InspectorGadget
Oh the irony. . . .
They should have included
"I'm AI generated, so not everything you see online is real. I'm also not asking you for money or your bank details . . . . ."
BeerDeliveryGuy
Actually I think it’s a very good idea to demonstrate how convincing AI generated videos can be.
Reminds me of a scene from the old movie “Singing in the Rain” in which the actors are bamboozled by the “talking picture” demonstration reel.
grund
And Japan being Japan, the AI police chief is of course a cute 16 year old girl.
Cephus
Why stop there, perhaps the City will also need an AI male version. Informing the city management like when not to buy a 100 EV buses and later dumping them.