Xinhua–Sogou AI news anchor

Last updated
Xinhua–Sogou AI news anchor
Xinhua AI bots.jpg
Avatars of the AI: English ver. patterned after Zhang Zhao (left) and Chinese ver. derived from Qiu Hao (right)
Developer Xinhua News Agency
Sogou
Primary user/s Xinhua News Agency
CountryChina
Year introduced2018
Purpose Technology demonstration
(news presenting)
Language/s
  • English
  • Chinese

Xinhua News Agency and Sogou of China developed an artificial intelligence (AI) for news reporting purposes. The AI was unveiled in 2018. [1] It is touted to be the "world's first AI news anchor". [2]

Contents

History

The AI was unveiled at the 2018 World Internet Conference in Wuzhen, Zhejiang, China. [2] [3] [4] The AI devises avatars patterned after real life Xinhua anchors. [5] The AI patterned after Qiu Hao spoke in Chinese, while the one derived from the likeness of Zhang Zhao speaks in English. [5] [6] The unveiling of the AI raised concerns of its impact on employment. [7] Xinhua and Sogou unveiled Xin Xiaomeng, an AI with a female avatar in 2019. [8] [9] :7

People's Daily followed suit by unveiling its own AI newscaster in 2023. [10]

See also

References

  1. Handley, Lucy (9 November 2018). "The 'world's first' A.I. news anchor has gone live in China". CNBC. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  2. 1 2 Kuo, Lily (9 November 2018). "World's first AI news anchor unveiled in China". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  3. "World's first AI news anchor makes "his" China debut". Xinhua. 8 November 2023. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  4. "全球首个"AI合成主播"在新华社上岗-新华网" [The world's first "AI synthetic anchor" joins Xinhua News Agency] (in Chinese). Xinhua. 7 November 2018. Archived from the original on 23 November 2018. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  5. 1 2 "China's Xinhua agency unveils AI news presenter". BBC News. 8 November 2018. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  6. "'I will work tirelessly': China unveils artificial intelligence news anchors". ABC News. 9 November 2018. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  7. "Debut of China AI Anchor Stirs Up Tech Race Debates". Voice of America. 15 November 2018. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  8. Steger, Isabella (20 February 2019). "Chinese state media's latest innovation is an AI female news anchor". Quartz. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  9. Greenspan, Anna; Konior, Bogna (2025). "Introduction: Fleeting Forces and Clever Machinations". In Bratton, Benjamin; Greenspan, Anna; Ireland, Amy; Konior, Bogna (eds.). Machine Decision is Not Final: China and the History and Future of Artificial Intelligence. Urbanomic, MIT Press. ISBN   9781913029999.
  10. Cleave, Iona (17 March 2023). "Can you spot what's wrong with this news anchor?". News.com.au. Retrieved 30 September 2023.