Chinese AI News Anchor Works 24 Hours a Day, 365 Days a Year
China has revealed its latest digital news anchor, an artificial intelligence (AI) powered “woman” that delivers news 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
China’s state-owned news outlet People Daily unveiled its new AI-created presenter named “Ren Xiaorong” in a video posted on the country’s main social media platform Weibo on Sunday.
Meet Ren Xiaorong, the latest AI news anchor at state media outlet People's Daily. Read more about this virtual presenter here: https://t.co/EMepqzgBvS pic.twitter.com/IMxyr17vG0
— Manya Koetse (@manyapan) March 12, 2023
The Chinese Community Party’s (CCP) official news outlet People Daily claims Xiaorong has the professional skills of a “thousand presenters”.
In the video, Xiarong stands in front of a city skyline. She declares that she can deliver “news broadcasts about any topic all year round.”
“For 365 days, 24 hours, I will be reporting news for the whole year, round the clock, without rest,” Xiarong adds.
“Whether at news sites or back in the studio, you will always see me. Every conversation, every feedback you provide, will only make me smarter.”
Xiarong’s creators claim she can speak about any topic. However, according to reports, the AI-powered anchor can only answer questions about preset subjects that relate to China’s Two Sessions political conference.
These include “cutting edge technology,” “tax and fee reduction,” “employment,” and “The Belt and Road Initiative.” Xiarong’s responses are in line with the CCP’s ideology and viewers are unable to go off-script and type their own questions for the digital presenter.
Xinhua's first English #AI anchor makes debut at the World Internet Conference that opens in Wuzhen, China Wednesday pic.twitter.com/HOkWnnfHdW
— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) November 7, 2018
Xiarong is the latest presenter in an emerging group of digital AI news anchors that appear online and on television in China. The first AI-powered presenter debuted on the state news agency Xinhua in 2018 and was modeled after an existing human reporter.
During the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China also unveiled a virtual host as well as the country’s first AI sign language presenter.
PetaPixel previously reported on how Venezuela’s government was using faked AI-generated television presenters to spread disinformation.
Venezuelan state-owned television station VTV was using deepfake English-speaking hosts from a fictitious American news agency, who are called Noah and Daren, to share falsely positive news coverage about the country.
