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Auckland’s International Airport has become the first in the world to deploy a ‘digital’ biosecurity officer.
Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) detection technology manager, Brett Hickman, says that, while nothing can replace real human interaction, the idea is for the digital employee, which features the latest in artificial intelligence technology, to take some of the load off MPI officers during peak times by answering simple biosecurity questions from the public.
Vai, which stands for Virtual Assistant Interface, started work in February in a trial to see whether she will become a permanent asset in the team. Vai can see, hear and answer arriving international visitors’ questions.
Westpac’s Innovation Fund supported the development of Vai, while FaceMe, a New Zealand-based company specialising in artifical intelligence (AI), developed the technology.
FaceMe’s avatar technology uses biometrics to learn human interactions and interact accordingly.
Digital Employees also learn from past interactions to sharpen and perfect their skills.
FaceMe chief executive Danny Tomsett says Vai is highly conversational. “She embodies the AI experience with human like qualities, including a friendly personality and emotional understanding,” he says. “Over the next 10 years, human contact with organisations will be reduced to less than 15 percent of interactions.”
The findings from the trial are expected to be published this month.
