AI News Anchors Are Here, Will They Replace Humans on TV?
A California startup is betting on artificial intelligence to take over our television screens and produce more personalized news. Channel 1, based in Los Angeles, has announced plans to launch the first-ever news channel presented entirely by AI anchors in 2024.
This development comes as AI video generation technology has become widespread in the digital marketing and entertainment industry (YouTube and other video-sharing platforms) over the past two years. Several AI startups of the early 2020s have already emerged showcasing AI’s ability to produce photorealistic human faces with natural-sounding voices.
Channel 1 shared a video on the social media site X showcasing their technology. For 22 minutes, a masterful selection of AI newsreaders ran through stories of the day with a human-like fluidity. But these anchors weren’t human – they were generated by artificial intelligence.
The founders of Channel 1 believe the time is right for AI to step in as news presenters. And new research appears to support their view. A survey by polling firm Ipsos found trust in British TV newsreaders has plummeted over the past two years. In 2022, 58% said they trusted TV newsreaders to tell the truth – but that number has now dropped to just 42%.
Still, not everyone is convinced AI is ready to fully replace humans. While the technology has advanced to allow AI anchors to read scripts flawlessly, Channel 1 relied on human-recorded footage and did not demonstrate AI’s ability to report live or interview subjects on location. For now, the human touch remains vital for certain aspects of news delivery.
Only time will tell if Channel 1’s AI-powered news service takes off when it launches in 2024. But it seems clear this startup is betting big on artificial intelligence increasingly fronting our television news.
