This thing isn’t special.
Why is it that every time a robot makes the news everybody acts like its a huge deal, but once you click the video it’s some dog shaped robot taking 15 seconds to do a backflip or open a door?
I mean yes, they’d be scary if they were weaponised, but so are humans, and humans have opposable thumbs.
Now people are freaking out over an Artificial Intelligence newsreader in China, working for Xinhua News. And of course, I have no doubt that a lot of effort went into creating this monster and that the people responsible probably have many degrees from esteemed universities — but this thing talks like a SatNav.
A bad SatNav. This thing talks like how it sounds on that old Microsoft programme that would read things that you’d typed back to you. This guy is no Walter Kronkite, Ron Burgundy or Bryan Dobson. His cadence isn’t even correct. He will never replace those of us currently working in the news industry, and I say that will full confidence that my words will not come back to bite me in some kind of ironic Hollywood twist.
Plus, the thing needs to have all the messages typed and transmitted into its head (or its motherboard or whatever), which you have to put into a teleprompter anyway.
Here’s the video. Prepare to be unimpressed.
Xinhua's first English #AI anchor makes debut at the World Internet Conference that opens in Wuzhen, China Wednesday pic.twitter.com/HOkWnnfHdW
— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) November 7, 2018
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