China’s AI news anchor can only answer pre-set questions with propaganda responses

Meet the New Journalist Hired Chinastate-controlled newspaper powered by artificial intelligence (AI).

A virtual young woman named “Ren Xiaorong” claims to be able to answer questions and broadcast news 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

But there is one catch – the avatar can only answer pre-set questions, and the answers it gives are actively promoting the line of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CCP).

The questions relate to the political conference “Two Sessions” that ended on Monday, at which the country’s delegates discussed and approved legislation.

Ren was developed by the CCP’s official news agency, People’s Daily, and says she has the skills of “a thousand news anchors.”

She was featured on Weibo, a social media platform in China, in a video elegantly dressed in a black blazer and standing against the city skyline.

The digital news anchor says, “Hello, my name is Ren Xiaorong. I’m a digital AI presenter who just joined People’s Daily.

“Thousands of new hosts have passed on their professional skills to me.

“365 days, 24 hours, I will report the news for the whole year, around the clock, without rest.

“Whether on the news sites or in the studio, you will always see me.

“Every conversation, every feedback from you only makes me smarter.”

Despite these statements, when you open app to interact with Ren, you can only ask her to talk about pre-set topics related to two sessions.

These include “advanced technology”, “tax cuts”, “employment” and “One Belt, One Road”.

All of her answers are in line with the CCP’s ideology, and the user cannot force her to deviate from the script by asking her a question of her own.

Reviews for her on Weibo have been mostly positive, with comments such as “wow!”, “Awesome”, “so real”, and “very sci-fi”.

But the popular microblogging site is under surveillance to comply with China’s strict censorship regime.

Platforms in the country are removing material quickly and regularly, from complaints about the COVID lockdown to cryptic criticism of politics.

On Twitter, which is not available in China, the reaction is less positive.

One user said: “This looks so bad. In the meantime, we have developed Deep Fakes, AI dialogues and AI voices.”

Ren is not the first AI-generated host in China, as they have been appearing online and on TV since 2018.

The first three were modeled after three existing reporters, two males And one womanfor the Xinhua News Agency.

Next came Robot Master Jiang Lailaiwho presented an entertainment program about new technologies.

Xinhua soon hired another digital host, Xin Xiaomingmodeled after another journalist, and announced the news of two sessions in 2020.

However, now they all look relatively outdated, especially compared to ever-expanding capabilities of ChatGPT.

But that doesn’t mean China is dropping out of the AI ​​chatbot race, as it today unveiled its own competitor, Ernie, developed by tech company Baidu.

However, he disappointed investors with the use of pre-recorded videos and the lack of a public launch, which caused his stock to drop.

It’s only open for trial to an initial group of users, and even Baidu chief executive Robin Li admitted that it was only introduced “because the market demands it.”