| 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 |
| Country | China |
| Year introduced | 2018 |
| Purpose | Technology demonstration (news presenting) |
| Language/s |
|
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]
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]