Tokyo Launches "AI Governor Yuriko"; Multilingual Avatar Goes Online

(CNA Reporter Tai Ya-chen, Tokyo, 22nd) The Tokyo Metropolitan Government posted a video of "AI Governor Yuriko" on its official X (formerly Twitter) account yesterday, announcing the official launch of an AI avatar modeled after Governor Yuriko Koike. It primarily uses her voice to deliver administrative information in real-time and supports multilingual communication, sparking significant attention online.

The post started with "AI Governor Yuriko is born," stating that administrative information will be delivered in real-time through "Yuriko's Voice." It announced that "Governor Koike's AI virtual avatar has been born" and released a short video created with generative AI technology based on Yuriko Koike.

In the video, the cartoon-style AI avatar introduces itself saying, "Hello everyone, I am AI Governor Yuriko." It claimed to have been created to deliver information faster to more people and demonstrated greetings in multiple languages, including English, French, Spanish, and Arabic. "AI Governor Yuriko" subsequently released a second video educating the public on how to save electricity during the severe summer heat.

This new attempt has sparked discussion on the internet. Supporters believe that in the era of widespread generative AI, such attempts by the administration are understandable, commenting, "The voice is almost exactly like the real person, with no sense of incongruity, it's super amazing." However, some netizens questioned, "How will you deal with the issue of AI hallucinations?" criticizing it as a waste of budget and resources.

Actually, this is not the first time Yuriko Koike has launched an AI avatar. When she sought her third consecutive term in 2024, she also launched "AI Yuriko" to explain her political achievements over the past 8 years. At that time, the avatar had a realistic appearance closely resembling her days as a news anchor, which similarly attracted massive discussions and views, achieving a good promotional effect.

(Editor: Hsieh Yi-hsuan) 1150422