When Indian broadcaster Odisha TV introduced a new anchor earlier this month, she garnered mixed reviews, from “pathbreaking” to “robotic” and “emotionless.
The channel’s head, Jagi Mangat Panda, hailed her debut as “a milestone in broadcasting TV and digital journalism.”
Whatever their opinion, it seemed just about everyone had something to say about Lisa, Odisha TV’s first AI newscaster.
AI Presentation:
Dressed in a maroon and gold sari, the lifelike Lisa’s job is to deliver news bulletins on digital platforms, read horoscopes and provide weather and sports updates. Panda explained that the objective of using an anchor powered by artificial intelligence was to let it handle repetitive work and free up staff to “focus on doing more creative work to bring better quality news.”
But her arrival, and the recent rise of other newsbots, has stirred up a debate in India about the future of the media in the world’s most populous country. The phenomenon is mirrored in other Asian markets, from China to Southeast Asia, where artificial anchors are starting to change the face of news broadcasting.
AI offers a particularly powerful tool for reaching audiences in a country like India, where hundreds of languages are spoken. Even before Lisa popped up on screens, Delhi-based India Today Group had already launched the nation’s first AI news anchor, Sana. In addition to presenting news in English, Hindi and Bangla, she has reported the weather and co-anchored programs with other journalists in 75 languages.
Kalli Purie, India’s Today’s vice chairwoman, described Sana as “bright, gorgeous, ageless, tireless.”
In the southern state of Karnataka, Power TV is using Soundarya, who introduced herself as a “robot anchor. Nikki Asia
