Japan has enlisted an unlikely ally in its battle against a record-breaking wave of fraud: a AI police chief.
Known as AIko, the artificial intelligence avatar has been introduced by Osaka Prefectural Police as part of a campaign to combat increasingly sophisticated scams that have spread well beyond older generations and now target people of all ages.
AIko appears on YouTube with the face and voice of a young woman, warning the public that anyone claiming to be an officer over a video call is almost certainly trying to deceive them.
Her debut coincides with Japan’s efforts to curb a fraud crisis that cost victims more than $2bn last year, driven by investment scams, romance frauds, and criminals impersonating police officers, celebrities and other trusted figures.
AIko, whose name combines the abbreviation for artificial intelligence with “ko”, a common suffix in Japanese female names, made her first appearance in late May on the prefectural police’s YouTube channel. Through videos based on real scam conversations, she explains how fraudsters manipulate victims and the warning signs people should recognise.
In one video, titled Chief AIko’s Crime Prevention Class, she delivers a stark reminder: “No police officers show their IDs and arrest warrants online.”
Police hope the virtual officer will resonate with younger audiences who are less likely to engage with traditional public awareness campaigns but are increasingly vulnerable to scams carried out through social media and messaging platforms.
The strategy reflects a changing pattern of fraud in Japan.
Preliminary police figures show that people aged 64 and under accounted for nearly half of all scam victims in Osaka last year, highlighting that online fraud is no longer a problem confined to older people, reported Kyodo.
Victims have been duped by criminals posing as police officers, celebrity investment advisers, and even romantic partners, according to authorities.
Behind AIko is Toshinori Hirano, a visiting professor at Kagawa University’s Cyber Security Centre, who had worked with Osaka police before developing the virtual character.
Mr Hirano said he hoped the project would “heighten crime prevention awareness by utilising technology,” he told Kyodo.
Japanese investigators say many of the organised crime groups behind the scams operate from compounds in mainland South-east Asia, particularly in border regions of Myanmar and Cambodia, where large-scale fraud networks have flourished.
As part of efforts to curb the problem, officials from Japan’s National Police Agency recently met Cambodian counterparts to strengthen cooperation against cross-border scam syndicates and discuss ongoing investigations involving Japanese nationals.
More than 30 Japanese citizens were arrested in the first five months of this year for allegedly taking part in fraud operations across South-east Asia.
AIko’s launch also coincides with a broader push by Japan to integrate artificial intelligence into government.
The country’s Digital Agency is preparing to roll out Gennai, a secure generative AI platform for around 180,000 civil servants across 39 government agencies to assist with drafting documents, legal research, translations and parliamentary responses, reported Japan Times.
The government says the system will help reduce administrative workloads while operating within a closed network designed to minimise the risk of sensitive information being leaked, as Japan seeks to accelerate AI adoption across the public sector.
