She’s beautiful, she’s eloquent, she’s fluent in 30 languages, she’s a new spokesperson for the government of Ukraine . . . and she is not human. She is, in fact, a creation of Artificial Intelligence. And she scares the hell out of me.

Her name, inexplicably, is Victoria Shi. She doesn’t look Ukrainian; she doesn’t “look” anything at all. She could be anyone, from anywhere. She speaks English (which is the only language I’ve heard her speak) with a slight Ukrainian accent that is quite charming. From the brief video I viewed online, she seems to have one facial expression; one vocal intonation, though not a monotone; and one postural stance, though she moves her head and hands appropriately. She appears emotionless. But, somehow, what she says commands your attention, which is the whole idea.

And she answers questions like a well-trained, professional diplomat. She was interviewed by Ray Furlong of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), and she never missed a beat. (Check it out on Facebook, or on the RFE/RL website.) She answered questions as to why Ukraine felt it needed a virtual spokesperson, and even exhibited a sense of humor when she said she doesn’t sleep or eat and is therefore able to work 24/7. She explained how she was protected from being illegally cloned. She was perfect.

And that is what scares me. I’m afraid of technology. Well, too much technology, anyway. Drones are bad enough — horrible, actually — but clones?!! True, they can’t physically harm us real people (yet), but I’ll tell you why I fear them:

They can replace us.

Not all of us, but quite a few. First, there is that no-sleep-24/7 thing. She could replace three people in eight-hour shifts. What kinds of jobs? Customer service representatives come immediately to mind. Or schedulers and others who answer the phones in medical facilities. Think about that the next time you’re trying to get a refund for a faulty product, or find out about the results of your recent lab tests. Will that lovely voice on the other end of the line be able to handle your anger and frustration, or will you just keep hearing, “I’m so sorry you have been inconvenienced; be assured that your satisfaction is our first priority”?

Secretaries, bookkeepers, and other office workers are already becoming less and less visible because of automated processes that make it possible for one person to do the work of two, three, or more. It’s all assembly-line labor now, with no time for those chats by the water fountain . . . and it is mind-numbing and incentive-destroying.

And think about the people who previously held those jobs. Where are they working now? Retail sales? Those are rapidly being wiped out by online shopping. Fast-food restaurants? Sorry, but those are becoming more and more automated by the day as well, putting even greater numbers of people out of work. Before you know it, our city streets will be clogged with more Uber drivers than we would ever need . . . until driverless cars are perfected, that is. I suppose some of us could be retrained to build and repair all of the new technology, and to hell with job satisfaction. In a few years, no one will even remember what that was.

*. *. *

No, it’s not Victoria who terrifies me. There are many excellent applications for AI and other advanced technologies. But it’s what she symbolizes. Are we carrying it too far . . . or have we perhaps already done so? Are we truly headed for self-imposed obsolescence?

It’s things like this that keep me awake at night . . . but also make me glad I am the age that I am, with not that many years left to witness what humankind is doing to itself. Sometimes I think we owe our children an apology for this world we’re leaving to them . . . but then I realize that they’re the ones who invented all this technocrap.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka (the real live me)
5/4/24