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

She has a young woman’s voice, a friendly face and a police chief’s badge. Her name is “AIko” and she may be Japan’s most unconventional weapon in a war against fraud that cost the country a record US$2 billion last year.AIko – a blend of the abbreviation for Artificial Intelligence and “ko”, the Japanese feminine name suffix – made her public debut in late May on Osaka Prefectural Police’s YouTube channel, warning viewers about the tactics used by scammers 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.AI子署長の防犯教室！動画で学ぶ詐欺対策“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.