A virtual TV host appears

April 11, 2023

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A Kuwaiti media outlet this week launched a virtual television set created by artificial intelligence, with the ambition of handing over the delivery of a news bulletin to her in the Gulf nation.

Dressed in a white V-neck T-shirt and black jacket, “Feda” appeared on the Twitter account of news site Kuwait News on Saturday as part of a project still in the development phase.

“I’m Fedah, the first anchor in Kuwait to work with artificial intelligence on Kuwait News. What kind of news do you like? Let’s hear your opinions,” he says in classical Arabic.

The site, which is affiliated with Kuwait Times, the first English-language newspaper in the Gulf founded in 1961, is testing the potential of artificial intelligence to deliver “new and innovative content,” its editor told AFP. Deputy, Abdullah Boftain said.

According to him, the presenter may adopt a Kuwaiti accent in the future and provide a news bulletin on the Kuwait News Twitter account, which has more than 1.2 million subscribers.

“Fedha is a popular old Kuwaiti name that means silver, metal. We always imagine robots in silver and metal, so we combined the two,” said Abdullah Boftain.

His 13-second presentation video provoked many reactions on social networks, especially from journalists. “Our jobs are at stake. Will Feda and his colleagues replace us in the future?” one of them asked.