The first news media that relies almost exclusively on artificial intelligence is about to start operating in the spring of 2024. Even the channel’s news anchors are not real people.
- The first news media made with artificial intelligence is about to start operations in the spring of 2024.
- News anchors are created by artificial intelligence, as is the vast majority of news.
- Human journalists are assured to be involved in every step of the process.
The approach of the Los Angeles-based Channel 1 news media to producing news content raises many questions about the future of journalism.
The news anchors seen in the introductory video published by the new news channel look like real people, even though they are not.
Some of the company’s anchors have been created based on real people, and according to the company, the volunteers in question have been compensated for using their appearance. The other anchors, on the other hand, are entirely products of artificial intelligence.
– You hear us speak and you see our lips move, but our words are not pre-recorded, one of the artificial intelligence anchors states in the 22-minute video published by Channel 1, which you can watch below.
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Since news anchors are created by artificial intelligence, this means in practice that they can report news in basically any language.
Image material from other parts of the world can also be translated into any language. Channel 1’s video demonstrated this by showing a news clip filmed in France, where the interviewee spoke French.
Instead of the video being only subtitled by artificial intelligence, the video itself can be edited so that the Channel 1 viewer sees a video in which the same interviewee speaks fluent English or the viewer’s own mother tongue.
News about the artificial intelligence pen
Founder of Channel 1 Adam Mosam told USA Today that AI gets its news stories from traditional media as well as real freelance journalists.
In addition, artificial intelligence wades through bulletins and other openly available public information and official documents to find news topics.
– Everything you see on Channel 1 is based on reliable sources and verified facts, says one of the artificial intelligence anchors.
The aim of the channel is to provide “accurate, unbiased and reliable” news.
– Technology is our tool, but the basic values of journalism – honesty and responsibility – are the core of our operations, the AI anchor continued.
Channel 1 assures in its video that artificial intelligence does not invent news on its own, but that human journalists are part of every process, even if the viewer does not see them.
Mosam told for the Daily Mail earlier in December that artificial intelligence will “inevitably” be misused as well. He stated that he wants to promote the responsible use of technology.
Even the illustration was created by AI
The Hollywood Reporter said last summer that Channel 1 plans to use not only real footage but also images generated by artificial intelligence as illustrations for its news.
However, the intention is not to deceive anyone, but the illustration created by artificial intelligence is told openly in the broadcast.
Co-founder of the company, director of content Scott Zabielskistated to the Hollywood Reporter that Channel 1 is taking a cue from Spotify and Tiktok when creating personalized content for its viewers 24/7.
– We haven’t seen anything like this in news content so far.
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Would you trust the news provided by artificial intelligence, even if you knew that a real person was responsible for the fact-checking? Adobe Stock
The quality is still not as expected
Zabielski stated in the summer that the quality of the company’s artificial intelligence anchors is not yet as good as they would like.
– The anchors still look a bit like video game characters, Zabielski said and continued that no one really wants to watch that.
However, development has taken place since the summer, as anchors based on real people in particular seem very genuine. You only start to notice oddities when you pay attention to the movements of their hands and lips and listen carefully to the emphasis on words.
Zabielski and Mosam believe that in the future it will be impossible to distinguish between a human anchor and an artificial intelligence anchor.
Channel 1 is scheduled to start operating next spring in the form of an app. The advertising-funded news platform will be available for viewing for free.
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Channel 1 anchors seem more genuine than this guy here, based on the introductory video. As technology develops, it can be difficult to distinguish a person created with artificial intelligence from the real one. Adobe Stock
There will be criticism
Channel 1’s plans have also been criticized, as understandably not everyone trusts AI as a news carrier.
– If you believe in the concept of fake news, you haven’t seen anything yet, stated the CEO of Ruby Media Group Kristen Ruby in X.
– When artificial intelligence anchors replace people, fake news takes on a whole new meaning, he continued.
The editor of the Canadian BC Today was on the same lines Alec Lazenby.
– This is absolutely horrifying, he said in X.
– Although a news broadcast created entirely by artificial intelligence looks more than impressive, this can have huge consequences for an already exhausted news industry. It might accelerate the departure of hard-line journalists and anchors from the industry, Lazenby continued worriedly.
Sources: USA Today, The Hollywood Reporter, Ars Technica, Daily Mail