Ren Xiaorong, the AI-powered newscaster reporting to China

Chinese state media outlet People’s Daily recently introduced the newest member of its team of news anchors, ren xiaorong, an artificial intelligence (AI) powered virtual anchor that can supposedly provide 24/7 news coverage.

According to a report published on the website of Oddity CenterIn a video published last Sunday by the aforementioned medium, a virtual young woman named Ren Xiaorong introduced herself to the world as an AI-powered chatbot that learned the skills of “thousands of newscasters” and can constantly evolve based on viewer feedback.

Smartly dressed, the presenter certainly seemed like a congenial news anchor, and if it weren’t for the synthed out and out-of-sync dubbing, you’d hardly be able to tell she’s not a real person.

With an app, anyone can ask the newscaster questions on a variety of topics, including education, epidemic prevention, housing, employment, environmental protection, and many others, but currently can only provide generic answers in line with the rhetoric favored by the Chinese Communist Partyeither.

Ren Xiaorong’s introduction

“Hello, my name is Ren Xiaorong. I’m a digital AI presenter who just joined People’s Daily. Thousands of newscasters have imparted their professional skills to me. During the 365 days, the 24 hours, I will be reporting news for the whole year, 24 hours a day, without a breakRen said during his first show.

He added: “Whether it’s on the news sites or in the studio, you’ll always see me. Every conversation, every feedback you give, will only make me smarter.”.

While certainly impressive at first glance, Ren Xiaorong is currently not as advanced as the Open AI chatbot ChatGPT. Human users’ interaction with the virtual newscaster is limited to choosing the topic they want to learn about, to which Ren will always give generic answers.