Meet KAIIA: the South African AI with an uncontrollable obsession for KFC

TimesLIVE

5 hours ago

The past few weeks saw a mysterious South African AI launch making headlines and causing a stir on social media. The AI, known as KAIIA, reported to be fluent in 11 local languages, trained for local nuance and fine-tuned to Mzansi culture, was leaked via a network of tech enthusiasts.
Bongani Moropa, known as @Bonguhni, posted about KAIIA's fluency in Zulu, remarking on her odd obsession with food. Tech influencer Tyron Tech posted: 'This could be game changing for RSA'.
In a surprising turn of events, KAIIA was revealed to be a KFC-obsessed AI in KFC's new A.I.nything for the Taste campaign. She stars in a film that shows, once again, the lengths that some will go to sample KFC's Finger Lickin' Good food.
Watch it now:
KAIIA is a large language model with the functionality of a normal AI. However, when you speak to her, you will soon find out that not only is she distinctly South African, but that she's also obsessed with chicken.
You can engage directly with KAIIA here.
KFC Africa chief marketing officer Grant Macpherson says the brand loves pushing boundaries and surprising consumers with its campaigns showing the lengths people (and now an AI) will go to for the taste of KFC.
'The Unofficial Taste Inspector campaign is one everyone remembers, and last year we featured scientists spending a year on Marion Island and pining so hard that two of them set off home in a dinghy on a 2,000km journey across stormy seas clutching a KFC shopping list,' he says.
'This time around, we wanted to tap into the conversations people are having every day —AI, or as I like to call it, 'Are the robots taking over?' The advances in AI are on everyone's lips, so we thought why not put it on everyone's taste buds too? Our idea is to ride the wave of relevance by creating a campaign that taps into the modern zeitgeist, sparks conversation, and gives Mzansi a chance to engage with the tech in a fun and light-hearted way.'