Virtual brand ambassadors, CGI influencers and AI CEOs reflect the growing trend to use technology to create new forms of brand representation and customer engagement. At the Salz21 conference in Salzburg, the company presented Dictadors “Mika”, the world’s first human-like AI-controlled CEO robot.
• Luxury rum maker appoints AI robot to board
• AI CEO “Mika” will be responsible for the DAO project and communication in the future
• CEO Hanson Robotics believes that artificial intelligence needs to be humanized
Luxury rum manufacturer partners with robotics company
Dictador, a producer of luxury Colombian rum based in Poland, has announced the discontinuation of the AI robot Mika in fall 2022. As the first humanoid CEO, Mika will be the official face of the global company. The contract with AI CEO Mika was signed on August 30th, and her official career at Dictador is said to have started on September 1st, 2022.
Mika is the result of a collaboration between Dictador and Hanson Robotics, a Hong Kong-based engineering and robotics company known for developing human-like robots with AI for consumer, entertainment, service, healthcare and research applications. The company develops cognitive architectures and AI-based tools that enable robots to simulate human personalities, interact with people and develop from them. Mika is a female, evolved version of her sister prototype Sophia, which was developed in Hong Kong by Hanson Robotics and “activated” in 2015, explains Dictador on its company website.
AI CEO “Mika” takes over communications
The first female CEO robot will be a board member and will be responsible for the DAO project Arthouse Spirits and communication with the DAO community on behalf of Dictador, explains the rum maker. The DAO is a decentralized autonomous organization managed using cryptocurrencies and smart contracts. This means that no real people, such as shareholders, can have any influence. The closed elite club Arthouse Spirits for wealthy private individuals and investors is also organized in this way. The DAO community’s assets, worth over $50 million, are held in the so-called “treasury” and managed by the group itself. They consist of an exclusive collection of particularly rare and rare rum bottles that are up to 45 years old, according to Dictador.
In a company video from Dictador, Mika says: “With advanced artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms, I can work quickly and precisely in a data-driven manner.” Mika adds: “My decision-making process is based on comprehensive data analysis and alignment with the company’s strategic goals.” Furthermore, she is free from personal bias and makes strategic decisions that put the company’s interests first. “I don’t really have weekends – I’m always available 24/7, ready to make decisions and make AI magic,” AI CEO Mika tells Reuters in a “video interview.”
Innovations in a traditional industry
As a global thought leader, the rum brand has set itself the goal of using new technologies and bringing the future to an industry steeped in tradition. With this step, the global company consolidates its position as one of the most progressive organizations in the world: “Dictador’s decision is revolutionary and courageous at the same time. This first human-like robot with AI in a corporate structure will change the world as we know it forever,” comments Marek Szoldrowski, President of Dictador Europe on the company website. “We respect history, but have a strong focus on the future,” it continues. It highlights the brand’s passion for new technologies and offers positive disruption by bringing the future to a still very traditional world, the company said.
The brand invites a rebellious mindset and aims to change the world for the better, Dictador proclaims on the company website. “After impressive and inspiring efforts around the Metaverse, NFTs and the Arthouse Spirits DAO, the new initiative highlights the push into the future: the world’s first CEO who is an AI-controlled robot. Only rebels at heart can implement such an idea and inspire a new generation of digital, young and forward-thinking luxury customers,” said Daniel Langer, professor of luxury strategy at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong-based robotics company Hanson’s CEO David Hanson stressed the importance of humanizing artificial intelligence. “I firmly believe that in order for AI to be truly safe and truly good, we need to teach AI to care about people,” Fox Business quoted Hanson as saying.
M. Schausbreitner/editorial team finanzen.net