South Korean television channel MBN recently introduced its viewer's to the country's first-ever AI news anchor, an eerily realistic version of human anchor Kim Ju-ha. Developed by MBN in partnership with artificial intelligence production company Money Brain, South Korea's first AI news anchor was reportedly shockingly similar to her human inspiration. Not only did it have the exact same look and voice as the popular news anchor, but she also mimicked the small gestures that Kim sometimes makes, like fiddling with a pen while reporting the news.
During a recent broadcast, AI Kim even shared a conversation with real-life Kim Ju-ha to compare their voices, which apparently freaked a lot of people out. The company says that AI newscasters may be better suited to deal with natural disasters and other emergencies, as they are available at any time, day or night.
The company also expects this new technology to help it cut labor and production costs. As scary as that sounds to human news anchors, some experts are convinced that digital, AI-powered avatars will never fully replace human anchors.