Chinese news agency to cut costs with 'AI anchors'
Xinhua, China's state-run news agency, introduced two new 'AI anchors'. These robots have been programmed to mimic the station's existing human reporters.
"I will work tirelessly to keep you informed as texts will be typed into my system interrupted".
This is not exactly the kind of fair comment and accurate news promise that you're used to hearing from public broadcasters, and that's because Xinhuan, China's state-run news agency, is looking to take reporting to a new level with the introduction of "AI anchors".
Two artificial intelligence entities, one speaking English and the other speaking native Chinese languages, have been added to the Xinhuan team. Their creators hope to one day be able to replace human anchors completely, thereby removing the company's need to spend money on salaries.
The English-speaking anchor introduces himself and, to put anyone who may be alarmed at his uncanny resemblance to a real-life newsreader at ease, immediately tells us that he has been "modelled after" a man named Zhang Zhao. Zhao is employed by Xinhuan and was willing to provide his likeness to the project.
The AI version of Zhao speaks in a clipped, halting tone that makes it impossible to forget that you're watching a robot deliver the news. But the creators of the AI anchors are hopeful that they will soon be advanced enough to fool anyone.
The confidence with which the anchors declare that they will bring a "brand new news experience" while displaying incredibly life-like body language is quite jarring.
Xinhua believes AI anchors are the best way to keep up with the demanding world of news production. As the English AI anchor said in his introductory broadcast: "The development of the media industry calls for continuous innovation and deep integration with the international advanced technologies."
Technology is advancing at an incredible pace and the recent news of men marrying holograms and robots being trained for combat proves that computers have become inextricable from daily life. It's terrible news for the Luddites among us.
What do you think: do you want your news and information to be left in the hands of robots?