A mysterious new South African artificial intelligence platform, which sparked widespread speculation due to its bizarre obsession with chicken, has been unmasked as the centrepiece of a new marketing campaign by fast food giant KFC.

The AI, named KAIIA (Kentucky AI Integrated Assistant), is set to star in the brand’s latest television and cinema advertisement, in which she reportedly goes to extraordinary lengths for the taste of KFC. The campaign extends beyond the screen, with KFC announcing the creation of a real purpose-built AI model ready for public use from 24 June.

KAIIA, developed by Methodlab in Cape Town, will be fully operational to the public as a large language model AI assistant from 24 June. She is capable of fluent interaction in 11 of South Africa’s official languages, with responses built around local culture and nuanced according to the language used, KFC notes.

Social media stir

Last week, social media was abuzz after leaks and a tech specification video surfaced, prompting tech influencers to investigate. Many reported that KAIIA would randomly mention chicken during interactions. Bongani Moropa, known as @Bonghuni on social media, highlighted KAIIA’s fluency in Zulu but remarked on her peculiar food obsession. Another tech influencer Tyron Tech posted “This could be game changing for RSA”.

Anything for the taste

Grant Macpherson, chief marketing officer at KFC Africa, explained the brand's penchant for pushing boundaries and surprising consumers with campaigns that illustrate 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 clutching a KFC shopping list,” he said. “Bringing these stories to life with our incredible partners at Ogilvy has been a blast."

“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 lighthearted way,” Macpherson states.

He added, “Sure, AI can help me check the spelling in this quote and generate an endless stream of cat memes - but you’ve got to feel a bit sorry for it. I mean, what’s life (even artificial life) without the pleasure of our world-famous 11 herbs and spices?”