Kuwait News, a media outlet in Kuwait, has introduced an AI-generated virtual news presenter named ‘Fedha’ through their Twitter account. Fedha is depicted as an image of a woman with blonde hair, wearing a black jacket and white T-shirt.
Abdullah Boftain, the Deputy Editor-in-Chief for Kuwait News, stated that the move aimed to test the potential of AI in providing “new and innovative content.”
Fedha made her debut on the Twitter account and spoke in Arabic, asking for people’s opinions on what kind of news they preferred.
أول مذيعة في #الكويت تعمل بالذكاء الاصطناعي
• #فضة.. مذيعة #كويت_نيوز الافتراضية
• ما هي نوعية الأخبار التي تفضلونها بتقديم #فضة زميلتنا الجديدة؟ .. شاركونا آراءكم pic.twitter.com/VlVjasSdpb
— كويت نيوز (@KuwaitNews) April 8, 2023
According to Boftain, Fedha may develop to have a Kuwaiti accent and read online news bulletins.
Boftain also explained that the name Fedha is derived from an old Kuwaiti name that means ‘silver.’
The presenter’s light-colored hair and eyes reflect the diverse population of Kuwaitis and expatriates in the country.
Kuwait is not the first country to introduce an AI-generated news presenter, with China’s state news agency unveiling its virtual newsreader in 2018.
AI’s potential to replace jobs has been a topic of discussion for many industries. A report by Goldman Sachs last month suggested that AI could replace around 300 million full-time jobs.
The report also indicated that the technology could take over a quarter of work tasks in the US and Europe, leading to new jobs and a productivity boom.
