A television channel based in Los Angeles is set to launch news anchors generated by artificial intelligence (AI) in February 2024.
LA-based Channel 1 will be debuting these digital humans – a mix of digitally created avatars and "digital doubles" created by the channel – by next year, the Daily Mail reported. These digital news anchors will be reporting news updates on global events. They will also be featured in free streaming TV platforms.
Adam Mosam, Channel 1's founder, said news reports will come from trusted official sources like public records and government documents in partnership with undisclosed legacy news outlets, commissioned freelance journalists and AI-generated news reports. The digital news anchors will then report the news on air.
Mosam added that Channel 1 seeks to provide viewers with a personalized news experience similar to the popular social media app TikTok. The app is designed to adapt to user preferences over time, learning their habits and interests – whether it's financial news, sports or other topics. Channel 1 will also use digital double anchors to replace the voice and mouth movements of people in news stories with an English translation. This, in turn, will transform local news stories into an accessible format for international audiences. (Related: Technology news website describes Microsoft’s AI chatbot as an emotionally manipulative liar.)
"If we can generate 500 stories and choose the right nine or 10 for you, then we're going to do a better job of informing you and showing you what you're looking for in your allotted time," Mosam said.
AI-generated news anchors give new meaning to FAKE NEWS
Media professionals and critics expressed fear over the development, voicing out potential consequences that could befall the dying news industry.
"If you believe in the concept of 'fake news,' you have seen nothing. At least your news is presented by humans," said Kristen Ruby, CEO of the public relations firm Ruby Media Group. "When AI news anchors replace human news anchors, the concept of fake news will have a totally different meaning."
BC Today reporter Alec Lazenby denounced the "utterly terrifying" idea of having AI news anchors. "While the development of an entirely AI-powered broadcast is beyond impressive, it could have huge ramifications for an already depleted news industry and accelerate the loss of high-quality reporters and anchors," he posted on X.
Meanwhile, technology and social media commentator Lance Ulanoff said: "AI news anchors are exactly what you don't need in your fact-based, news-starved life."
Despite Mosam assuring that Channel 1 won't exploit AI-generated news anchors, the marks of previous AI experiments in journalism still remain. Doubts persist among the public, with fears of a dystopian future where fake news proliferates through AI-generated content. If not generating news anchors, media outlets are toying with the idea of using AI to write news articles.
For instance, media giant Gannett began its AI experiment in August, tapping the LedeAI service to automatically generate local high school sports stories across its portfolio of publications. However, the company decided to terminate its experiment after a series of article errors.
Sports Illustrated, once considered the gold standard in sport print journalism, also dabbled with AI. The magazine has resorted to churning out AI-generated articles and tacking on fake writer names and bios at the end, complete with phony AI-generated headshots designed to trick readers into believing that a professional wrote them.
Visit Journalism.news for more stories about the legacy media dabbling with AI.
Watch this video about Microsoft's AI chatbot showing bias against conservatives.
This video is from the NewsClips channel on Brighteon.com.
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