The region is witnessing the rise of AI news bots that have started reading breaking news from different countries to cater to different cultural and linguistic needs. Source: Shutterstock
- India Today launched a female AI newscaster named Sana in April.
- Odia-based news outlet Odisha TV has announced India's first regional AI news anchor 'Lisa'.
- Indonesia's TVOne channel also introduced two AI news anchors in three months.
In 2018, China made what it claims is a world first by introducing artificial intelligence (AI) news anchors. The movement is unlike othersand according to China's state news agency Xinhua, the virtual newsreader was intended to “run” 24 hours a day on websites and social media channels and “reduce news production costs.”
That was five years ago, and for Xinhua's already tightly scripted and controlled state news hosts, the AI anchors take things a step further. But machine-generated journalism is still in its infancy for the industry, and it's no wonder China has been at the forefront of its evolution.
As AI emerges in many forms; Generation AI, Use of technology has become part of the industry's toolbox. Four years ago, Francesco Marconi journalhe said. new york times AI has become a necessity.
“I think many of the tools of journalism will soon be powered by AI,” Marconi predicted in 2019. He wasn't wrong. In the era of ChatGPTnewsrooms around the world are beginning to grapple with how to incorporate technology into their workflows and workplaces.
Take Asia, for example. The region is seeing the rise of AI news bots, which are reading breaking news from each country to cater to different cultural and linguistic needs.
AI News Anchor in India
China's state-run Xinhua News Agency hired two AI news anchors in 2018, one speaking Mandarin and the other English, and India followed suit this year. The South Asian country unveiled her first AI-powered anchor, Sana, in April.
The first AI newscaster in Odisha.Source: Twitter
Sana sometimes introduces newsletters on India Today Group's Aaj Tak news channel. Just last week, Sana made history by presenting a news report entirely in French on Aaj Tak's primetime show, marking an important milestone in the country's broadcasting sector.
Sana's latest capability coincided with Prime Minister Modi's visit to France. It has special significance as it marks the 25th anniversary of the India-France strategic partnership. Joining this trend, several other channels across the country are also introducing his AI-powered news presenters.
Last week alone, two AI news presenters made their debut in India. Lisa appeared on a private news channel in Odisha, reporting breaking news in English and Odia, the language spoken in the state.
The channel's leader, Jaggi Mangat Panda, called this moment a “milestone in broadcast television and digital journalism”, adding that the role of “Lisa” will “help journalists deliver more quality news.” It will include repetitive tasks so that they can focus on more creative work in order to deliver the best results possible.
'Lisa' will be able to deliver news in various local languages of India. India's Kannada channel Power TV has also made a similar groundbreaking move. This channel introduced its own AI presenter, Soundarya.
Indonesia
TVOne's AI news anchor Sasha debuted with Nadira in April. Source: TVOne
In the same month, India launched its first virtual news presenter, and Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago, also introduced three AI news. tvOne, one of the most watched broadcasting channels in Indonesia, introduced three virtual girlfriend presenters named Nadira, Sasya, and Bhoomi.
The various avatars are aimed at appealing to some of the country's key demographic groups. Local media reports say the figure is generated using AI software but is not yet interactive, despite being promoted as an AI avatar by the Indonesian government.
“Indonesians are not completely impressed. rollout videothe avatar's speech track was clearly out of sync with the animation, and the figures appeared awkwardly cropped against the flat background.” Rest of the world To read.
Taiwan
Taiwan's FTV News recently introduced an AI weather presenter to provide a two-minute weather forecast on July 3. This he appeared after 6 months of development. The AI weather presenter (whose name has yet to be revealed) is created using Artificial Intelligence Global Company (AIGC) technology and can generate photorealistic human images.
A Taiwanese news channel has debuted an AI weather caster on YouTube. Source: YouTube
Like other virtual presenters, Taiwanese virtual presenters can learn from past broadcasts to enhance their speaking style, pauses, rhythm, and overall presentation. Additionally, the Taiwanese channel provides its AI characters with daily news scripts for “practice” tailored to specific situations.
Kuwait: First AI news presenter in the Middle East
News presenter “Feda” appears on Kuwait News Twitter account
In addition to India and Indonesia, media companies in the Middle East also took the opportunity to launch their first virtual news presenters in April. AI anchor “Fedha” Appeared The post on the Kuwait News Twitter account sparked a flood of reactions on social media.
While some have praised virtual presenters as an innovation, others have expressed concerns about the ethics of using AI in newsrooms.
Malaysia
Malaysia is also starting to see a wave of generative AI in news editing operations. In May this year, two AI avatars were introduced at Astro Awani, one of the country's leading broadcast news organizations. Joon is an AI avatar on Astro Awani's channel 501 that delivers news reports in Malay during the evening news broadcast. Monica, who has a Scandinavian appearance, participates in discussions on the Agenda AWANI talk show every night on the same day.
Joon and Monica are the result of the synergy of two aspects: generative AI technology and professional journalism practices.Source: Astro Awani
According to Ashwad Ismail, Editor-in-Chief of Astro AWANI, the development of AI avatars like Jun and Monica is of great importance. It is not intended to challenge or replace existing human talent, but rather to improve and enhance the quality of human individuals and the products they create.
