A Step Ahead: World's first AI presenter unveiled in China

The Media & Broadcast Industry touched a new level with a AI News Presenter going On-Air for China’s state news agency Xinhua for the first time.

According to a article published in The Guardian, China’s state news agency Xinhua previous week introduced the newest members of its newsroom: AI anchors who will report “tirelessly” all day every day, from anywhere in the country.

Chinese viewers were greeted with a digital version of a regular Xinhua news anchor named Qiu Hao. The anchor, wearing a red tie and pin-striped suit, nods his head in emphasis, blinking and raising his eyebrows slightly.

Developed by Xinhua and the Chinese search engine, Sogou, the anchors were developed through machine learning to simulate the voice, facial movements, and gestures of real-life broadcasters, to present a “a lifelike image instead of a cold robot,” according to Xinhua states the article.

While China is home to some of the world’s largest tech companies and some 800 million internet users, its internet is one of the most controlled in the world. Observers worry China is turning into a digital police state, with technology from iris and gait recognition being deployed to monitor activists, ethnic minorities in places like Xinjiang, and regular citizens.

China's Xinhua News Agency has billed the technology as the "world's first artificial intelligence (AI) news anchor," unveiled at the World Internet Conference in China's Zhejiang province. The anchor "learns from live broadcasting videos by himself and can read texts as naturally as a professional news anchor," Xinhua says.

The discussion for the advantage and disadvantage of using the technology will always be there. However the development that has taken place in the industry due to which such a technology is available should be appreciated.

SOURCE- The Guardian