Its delivery robotic and at times comical, the world's first AI news anchor undoubtedly left a few of his human counterparts feeling the uncomfortable creep of impending obsolescence.
"This is my very first day at Xinhua News Agency," declared the sharply dressed 'man' in synthesized prose. "I look forward to bringing you the brand new news experiences."
More virtual puppet than traditional CGI animation, the digital anchor was modeled after real-life anchor Zhang Zhao and designed jointly with the Chinese search engine company Sogou.com. He was unveiled by China's state-run Xinhua News Agency at the World Internet Conference, hailed as having "endless prospects" and signaling China's public push into the brave new world of machine learning.
Windows Into the Future
On the surface, human news deliverers were not convinced.
The BBC was quick to undercut the AI anchor's crude and unnatural appearance, with actual news presenter Simon McCoy actually bursting out in laughter while reading Xinhua's lofty claims, as if to prove the point. The Washington Post, meanwhile, felt compelled to remind its readers the AI news reader remained "devoid of decision making and processing skills and cannot offer the emotional element given by a real journalist."
"It's quite difficult to watch for more than a few minutes," declared Michael Wooldridge from the University of Oxford. "If you're just looking at animation you've completely lost that connection to an anchor."
Beneath the surface, however, one gets a sense of severe hand-wringing as journalists wonder how to compete with something that, according to Xinhua, "can work 24 hours a day on its official website and various social media platforms, reducing news production costs and improving efficiency."
AI technology is already being used to produce automatically generated text for breaking news events concerning elections, quarterly results, and the Olympics. But it's larger than just the news.
Synthetic characters like virtual pop star Hatsune Miku and CGI Instagram models continue to seep into mainstream entertainment culture. And closer to home, you might want to check out Amy Winehouse's 2019 Hologram tour. The deceased Diva will be beamed on stage belting out her classics, backed by a live band. This will mark BASE Hologram's third such event following worldwide tours for fellow departed music legends Roy Orbison and Maria Callas.
Rise of the Machines
Given the rapid pace at which the technology is improving, focusing on the technology's current cosmetic limitations seems like a gross miscalculation of what AI will mean for our collective futures. If creative careers like reporting the evening news or performing a song can be fully automated and digitally reproduced, what makes the rest of our jobs safe?
Just like what is happening with animated films and video games, there may come a day where AI news anchors will be indistinguishable from real humans. And if digital news anchors become the new norm, could digital pastors be next? Imagine an AI with the ability to create a sermon by algorithm. A realistic hologram delivers the perfectly crafted words beautifully. Would people attend a church led by a digital preacher? Could we reach a point where congregants can't even tell the difference?
Are we truly ready to live in a world where AI composites deliver everything from the evening news to your Sunday sermons?
Perhaps now's the time to start asking these questions.
13 comments
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Tom B
There is no real news on tv or radio...it is just blips...people are not interested in real, analyzed news, or else there would still be wide-spread newspapers...this is a shame, but "progress" follows the money path, not the spiritual path...Peace...Tom
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Gary Hynous
It was my thought many years ago that most of the labor we do would be replaced by A.I. I envisioned humans looking like the depiction of Martians years ago as having huge heads planted on skinny bodies. Maybe I will be proven right.in the future. Keep exercising and do some cardio too. ha! ha!
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Rev. John D. Partin
He might also work for FOX "News" and then we really wouldn't be surprised by his being a shameless suck-up and shameless, generally, as Sean Hannity and the rest of them at FOX prove!!!
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John Owens
You still can't show where they publish false news. You just hate them because that is how you are programmed.
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John Owens
He could work for CNN. Then, no one would be surprised if he is shameless.
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Rev. Rene
At the very least we then know for sure the "news" we are being fed is not news but political kaka!!!
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John Owens
Yep. He could be a cashier at a fast-food restaurant since some places want a $15/hr. minimum wage.
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Greg
Yes, because god forbid people be paid a living wage. Grow up.
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John Owens
You need to grow up. Part-time unskilled labor doesn't need or deserve a living wage. We have already seen that machines will replace them if the minimum wage is raised to $15.00/hr. Lotta nerve on your part, telling someone to grow up.
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John Owens
I am grown enough to spell "Square" correctly, and capitalize "God", when speaking of a specific deity.
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Casey Mobley
Yes. Robots can replace people if the task is simple, predictable, and banal enough. Speaking of which, John, prove you're not a bot.
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John Owens
Prove you aren't, first, Casey. I'll wait.
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Don Lemon may be AI, if your definition of the "I" is not too literal.