Kuwait debuts 1st AI-generated news presenter

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Kuwait News has unveiled its new computerised news anchor, in a step which is amongst the world’s first manifestations of artificial intelligence news casting.

In a video posted on its Twitter account over the weekend, Kuwait News, a blonde woman wearing a black jacket and a white t-shirt presented herself in Arabic as “Fedha, the first presenter in Kuwait who works with artificial intelligence at Kuwait News.”

زميلتنا #فضة تعرض خدماتها للعمل كمستشارة افتراضية للحكومة الجديدة

• تمنت في مباركتها التشكيل الجديد أن تهتم حكومة النواف بـ #الذكاء_الاصطناعي

• ماذا تتمنون أنتم من الحكومة الجديدة ؟ pic.twitter.com/ewtCXJiEdZ

— كويت نيوز (@KuwaitNews) April 9, 2023

According to the AFP news agency, Kuwait News‘s deputy editor, Abdullah Boftain, called the development a test of AI’s potential to offer “new and innovative content”. In the future, he said, Fedha could even adopt the local Kuwaiti accent and present news bulletins on the outlet’s Twitter account.

Boftain clarified that the name of Fedha is “a popular, old Kuwaiti name that refers to silver, the metal”, adding that “We always imagine robots to be silver and metallic in colour, so we combined the two”.

As for the AI presenter’s appearance with her blonde hair and light-coloured eyes, Boftain said that it reflects the Gulf nation’s diverse population of both Kuwaitis and expatriates. “Fedha represents everyone,” he said.

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