"365 days, 24 hours: I will report news for the whole year, round the clock, without rest."
On March 12 2023, China unveiled their newest addition to the Chinese Communist Party’s national newspaper People’s Daily — a virtual artificial intelligence (AI) “employee” in the form of female news anchor Ren Xiaorong. She claims to have “the skills of a thousand presenters”, endless working hours, and the ability to report on current events from anywhere, be it a remote location or inside a recording studio. The scariest part? She looks indistinguishable from an actual, real-life human.
Left: A picture of Ren Xiaorong from Weibo/People’s Daily
Up close, Ren looks just the same as any other newscaster we see on television: from her facial features to her semi-formal office wear, the designers have nailed her anthropomorphic persona perfectly. Alongside her human-like qualities, Ren also claims to be able to “learn from (those who interact with her)”: every conversation and feedback provided serves to improve her intelligence and communication skills.
With such capabilities at the newspaper’s disposal, it’s no wonder that many will consider AI news anchors the future of our broadcasting industry: there are no breaks required, no mid-week leave applications, and no delays in breaking news coverage. For us, the general public: we consume news faster, obtain information at the tips of our fingers, and push a button to present our desired answer.
The all-encompassing idea behind AI news anchors is to reduce labour and increase efficiency, cutting costs for the news agency while still providing timely and accurate news across the broadcast stations; instant gratification achieved just through lines of code. In this increasingly digitalised society, the inclusion of technology seems to be the guiding path to progress as a society, reaping almost inhuman benefits for our convenience. What’s stopping us from embracing this new virtual form of journalism?
The Surfacing Problems Of China’s AI News Anchor
Well, for one, right now Ren is not all that she claims to be: conversations with her are more one-sided monologues than actual discussions. The user chooses one of the pre-selected conversation topics, limited in range and description, then listens to her deliver what sounds comparable to a monotonous recitation than an actual news report. There is no follow-up chat function after her soliloquy: the user only has the option to back out and choose another topic, and the cycle repeats itself again. Instead of a conversation between two like-minded human beings without the restriction of programming, it is merely a mindless reiteration of facts, indoctrinating users through Ren Xiaorong’s pre-programmed answers.
Aside from Ren’s supreme lack of interactivity, her very design is enough to raise some questions about the future of the news industry: as an AI software, she can work endlessly without breaks, has no need for sleep, vacations or rest days, and will never join a union, go on strike, or ask for a raise. Could an army of Rens potentially revolutionise today’s journalism workforce? Companies can exploit the use of this near-constant availability to their advantage by using AI to complete what would otherwise be considered tedious tasks; reporting for long hours, particularly during long-running events such as national election polls, or in a crisis where much time is spent waiting to report developments, to name a few. Instead of enduring long shifts during such periods, news anchors could rest and recharge, while AI takes over to “fill the gap”.
Furthermore, an AI’s ability to scour the vast ocean of the internet could help a news agency ensure that it is most up-to-date on the latest developments, bringing breaking news almost instantaneously to its audience. However, that also leaves it vulnerable to disinformation, and that is where humans may stay one step ahead — while AI may have supreme abilities to collect, summarise and regurgitate information, it takes an experienced professional to judge whether something seems implausible, and to hold back on the news-release when there is the risk of spreading false information.
A Possible AI Revolution?
If AI news anchors take over today’s news reportings, we will be faced with the near-total implementation of virtual newscasters, virtual weather reporters, or even virtual scenes that may have been pre-recorded or designed online. Yesteryear’s journalists who once thought they had safe and stable jobs would essentially be rendered redundant, replaced by a faster and more efficient version of… themselves? Despite how similar AI and humans may seem, the key lies in who is controlling who: whether one day, we will be faced with a robotic revolution; fully-autonomous drones circling us overhead like a murder of crows, reporting on our every move.
However, when we speak of a “robotic revolution”, we must keep in mind that there are some things AI will never be able to replace, and those are the defining characteristics that determine the difference between truly sentient beings and human-supervised technology. On Weibo, where Ren was first announced, many netizens spoke up about the lack of human emotions in Ren’s articulations:
Left: Image via Weibo
Essentially, the comment on Weibo stated that “(the news anchor’s) voice is cold and robotic. If you listen to it for too long, eventually you won’t even be listening at all.”
One thing AIs will never be able to achieve on their own is the capacity for human emotions; while simulation is possible, intrinsic feelings such as empathy for others is a trademark characteristic of humans that robots are simply unable to replicate. While Ren may provide 24 hours round-the-clock responses and news coverage, the sheer lack of emotion in her voice, and limited range of human expression on her face, is grating enough for most people to stop listening after a while, defeating her very purpose of being a news anchor. When compared to a human news anchor, who is able to convey their thoughts and responses through the cadence in their voice and expressions on their face, it is obvious that in some aspects, humans will always be far ahead of AI.
Propaganda and Its Proliferation Through AI
Lastly, and most critically, Ren’s answers are tailor-made to fit the Communist Party’s propaganda. Currently, she is only available to answer queries on the Two Sessions (China’s two annual legislative meetings, where major policy announcements are made). Each answer is a picture-perfect example of political correctness, delivered in a robotic and unfeeling tone. As I was listening to her response on The Belt and Road Initiative (a global infrastructure development strategy by China), it was easy to conclude from the start that there was much propaganda scripted into her speech. While Ren worked to provide the citizens with answers, she also fed them the according ideologies and beliefs aligned with that of the Communist Party. This begets the question: how accurate can we believe our news be, when such propaganda can be disseminated in such an incredibly efficient and widespread manner, unquestioningly and unconditionally?
In my opinion, a crucial aspect of news and journalism will always be the inherent objectivity of the account. When we only consume a singular, narrow perspective, it is considerably easier for us to be brainwashed since we are unable to see the situation from others’ shoes. However, when we are free from that editorial bias, our worldview is expanded exponentially — we see both sides of the argument now, how there may be positive and negative externalities for each side, and as a result, derive the risks of leaning too far left or right. From there we develop our critical thinking by creating our own opinions. In the case of Ren’s example: when citizens are constantly indoctrinated in song and praise for government policies, their eyes are only opened to the policies’ implied benefits. The media turns bland and stringent: users learn only what they are told to learn, blindly trusting everything Ren Xiaorong says. Does this feel like true news, or is it simply censored news, one meant to brainwash its people and crack down on public dissent?
At the end of the day, China’s AI news anchor promises great potential for the future of the news industry: with AI, we can reduce possible inefficiencies, provide support to current journalists conducting research in dangerous environments, and innovate our reporting techniques to further advance our society and keep up with the rest of the world. However, we must ensure that while looking for ways to pursue programmed productivity, we do not fall into the trap of convenient censorship and allow our greed to blind ourselves to the fact that AI was originally created to serve us, and not to take over our world.
Written by: Sarah Tan (23S77)
Edited by: Charlize Ling Xuan Ting (22S77), Widyayuki Triyono (22S6D)
Picture credits:
Weibo comment - https://mothership.sg/2023/03/ccp-new-ai-virtual-news-anchor/
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