A Kuwaiti media outlet has unveiled a virtual news presenter generated using artificial intelligence, with plans for it to read online bulletins. Fedha appeared as an image of a woman, her light-colored hair uncovered, wearing a black jacket and white T-shirt on the Twitter account of the Kuwaiti News website. The emergence of an AI presenter is an exciting development that showcases the importance of AI in the media industry.
Kuwaiti First AI Presenter
"I'm Fedha, the first presenter in Kuwait who works with artificial intelligence at Kuwait News. What kind of news do you prefer? Let's hear your opinions", she said in classical Arabic in a 13-second video posted on the site's Twitter page.
The site is affiliated with Kuwaiti Times which has been since 1961, for Arabic news in English. It is the Gulf region's first English-language daily.
The deputy editor-in-chief for both outlets, Abdullah Boftain, said that it was a test of AI's potential to offer "new and innovative content".
"Fedha is a popular, old Kuwaiti name that refers to silver, the metal. We always imagine robots to be silver and metallic in color, so we combine the two", Mr. Boftain said.
According to Mr. Boftain, the presenter's blonde hair and light-colored eyes reflect the oil-rich country's diverse population of Kuwaitis and expatriates. "Fedha represents everyone", he said.
In the future, Fedha could adopt the Kuwaiti accent and present news bulletins on the site's Twitter account which has 1.2 million followers, he said. Its initial 13-second video generated a flood of reactions on social media including from journalists.
Kuwait ranked 158 out of 180 countries and territories in the Reporters Without Borders 2022 Press Freedom Index.
What Does AI Really Offer?
The rapid rise of AI globally has the potential to bring about significant positive changes to society and raise the promise of benefits in areas such as Healthcare, customer experience, elimination of mundane tasks, etc. Some of the benefits include:
- Increased Efficiency: AI-powered machines and software can perform tasks much faster and more efficiently than humans, which has led to increased productivity and efficiency in many industries. This increased efficiency can help reduce costs and improve the quality of products and services.
- Improved Safety: AI can be used to improve safety in several areas, such as transportation, healthcare, and manufacturing. For example, self-driving cars can reduce the risk of accidents caused by human error, while AI-powered medical devices can help doctors diagnose diseases more accurately.
- Enhanced Customer Experience: AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants can provide customers with round-the-clock support, which can lead to higher customer satisfaction and increased sales.
- Better Decision Making: AI can analyze large amounts of data much faster than humans, which can help businesses and organizations make more informed decisions. For example, AI can be used to identify patterns in customer behavior or to predict market trends.
- Advancements in Science and Medicine: AI has the potential to revolutionize the fields of science and medicine by helping researchers analyze complex data, develop new treatments, and make discoveries.
However, it is also important to beware of its implications and ensure that AI is used in a way that benefits every member of society. Some implications of AI are to be mindful of our Job displacement, artistic integrity, spreading disinformation, dependence on technology, bias, etc.