China pioneered the use of artificial intelligence (AI) news anchors in 2018, a move that was largely seen as unique and a testament to the country’s technological innovation. The AI anchor was programmed to operate 24/7, thus helping cut news production costs. Over the past few years, AI and particularly generative AI have increasingly become essential tools in journalism.
The global industry has seen the rise of AI news bots, especially in Asia, catering to a variety of cultural and linguistic needs. In India, the first AI-powered news anchor, Sana, started presenting bulletins on Aaj Tak, a news channel part of the India Today Group. In addition, AI news presenters Lisa and Soundarya also debuted on other Indian channels, with the capability to present news in various local Indian languages.
Indonesia launched three AI news presentersâ??Nadira, Sasya, and Bhoomiâ??in April on tvOne, one of the country’s most-watched channels. In Taiwan, an AI weather presenter was introduced on FTV News.
Kuwait, in the Middle East, launched its first AI news presenter, “Fedha”, and Malaysia introduced two AI avatars, Joon and Monica, on Astro AWANI channel. These avatars are designed not to replace human talent but to enhance and strengthen the quality of human individuals and the products they create.
Meanwhile, tech giants Huawei and Alibaba have made significant investments in generative AI, unveiling new models. As AI continues to evolve, newsrooms worldwide are grappling with incorporating the technology into their workflows.
Here is a list of AI news anchors and presenters mentioned in the article:
1. Xinhua’s AI news anchor (China, introduced in 2018)
1. Sana (India, introduced in 2023)
1. Lisa (India, presents bulletins in English and Odia)
1. Soundarya (India, introduced on Power TV)
1. Nadira (Indonesia, introduced on tvOne)
1. Sasya (Indonesia, introduced on tvOne)
1. Bhoomi (Indonesia, introduced on tvOne)
1. Unnamed AI weather presenter (Taiwan, introduced on FTV News)
1. Fedha (Kuwait, the Middle East’s first AI news presenter)
1. Joon (Malaysia, presents news reports on Astro AWANI’s channel 501)
1. Monica (Malaysia, joins the Agenda AWANI talk show on Astro AWANI’s channel 501)
https://techwireasia.com/2023/07/ai-news-anchors-and-which-countries-has-them/