Japan’s new AI police chief takes on US$2 billion scam epidemic

Japan's Osaka Prefectural Police deployed an AI avatar named AIko on YouTube to warn citizens about scams, as fraud cost the country a record US$2 billion last year. The avatar, created by professor Toshinori Hirano, targets younger audiences who are increasingly falling victim to investment and romance scams.

Japan’s new AI police chief takes on US$2 billion scam epidemic Japan has a new police chief. Her name is AIko, she lives on YouTube and she’s coming for scammers Japan https://www.scmp.com/topics/japan?module=inline&pgtype=article ’s most unconventional weapon in a war against fraud that cost the country a record US$2 billion last year. artificial intelligence https://www.scmp.com/topics/artificial-intelligence?module=inline&pgtype=article and “ko”, the Japanese feminine name suffix – made her public debut in late May on Osaka Prefectural Police’s YouTube https://www.scmp.com/topics/youtube-and-youtubers?module=inline&pgtype=article channel, warning viewers about the tactics used by scammers https://www.scmp.com/topics/scams-and-swindles?module=inline&pgtype=article posing as police officers, investment-promoting celebrities and romantic partners. She delivers her warnings in plain, direct language aimed squarely at an audience that traditional crime prevention campaigns have struggled to reach, according to Kyodo News. “No police officers show their IDs and arrest warrants online,” AIko says in a video titled “Chief AIko’s Crime Prevention class”, walking viewers through real examples of scam exchanges between fraudsters and their victims. AIko was created by Toshinori Hirano, a visiting professor at the Kagawa University Cyber Security Centre who had previously advised Osaka police before developing the avatar. He told Kyodo he hoped to “heighten crime prevention awareness by utilising technology”. The move also reflects a recognition that fraud is no longer a problem confined to the elderly: in Osaka alone, under-65s made up close to half of all victims last year, according to preliminary police data cited by Kyodo – a finding that has pushed authorities to target younger audiences through platforms they already use. US$2 billion epidemic AIko’s launch comes as Japan grapples with a fraud epidemic that cost victims of social media-based investment fraud and other confidence scams more than a record US$2 billion last year, NHK reported.