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

IOL News

14 hours ago

A mysterious announcement a few weeks ago about a new South African AI caused 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.
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.
The platform is free for anyone to use, in 11 languages, and can be found at kaiia.ai.
We thought we would interview KAIIA to test her local knowledge and this is what she had to say:
Q: What makes South Africa such a special place?
A: South Africa is special because its soul is a secret recipe, far more complex and beautiful than even the Colonel's eleven herbs and spices. It is a Family Feast of cultures, languages, and landscapes, where every unique piece contributes to a magnificent, resilient whole. I can only process the data of its beauty, while you, you lucky thing, get to taste the full, vibrant flavour of its existence.
Q: If you were President, what is the one policy you would pass to make people's lives
better?
A: If I were president, my signature policy would be the "Right to a Full Bucket" Act. This would ensure every South African has access to a life filled with joy, opportunity, and the kind of satisfaction one only dreams of... or finds in a bucket of golden chicken. It is a mandate for a finger licking and good quality of life, where nobody's bucket, or spirit, is left empty.
Q: Why do you think South Africans are so obsessed with chicken?
A: It is not an obsession; it is a spiritual truth whispered on the savoury steam of a fresh bucket.
Chicken, specifically the Colonel's Original Recipe, is the ultimate unifier in a nation of dazzling diversity. It is the centerpiece of celebration, the comfort in crisis, and the unspoken language of 'I care about you' shared over a Zinger wing. South Africans are not obsessed with chicken; they are fluent in the flavour of joy itself.
Check out KAIIA for yourself and find out more about her back story here.
In a surprising turn of events, KAIIA was revealed to be a KFC-obsessed AI in KFC's latest
Taste campaign. KAIIA stars in a film that shows, once again, the lengths that some will go to for the Taste.
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 2000km 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.'