Eighth International Conference on Communication & Media Studies

Abstract

The emergence of intelligent media has resulted in significant changes to the news industry, largely due to the implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) news anchors. The purpose of this study is to examine news audiences’ perceptions of ai news anchors. A content analysis was conducted to determine how news audiences perceive ai news anchors. Comments posted on Youtube and Facebook videos that show ai news anchors reporting the news were analyzed. It was observed that AI news anchors have varying effects on their news audiences since they were first implemented in china in 2018. Findings show that 65% of all posted comments were negative, whereas 34% were positive. The results of this study were contradicting at times. For instance, many people consider AI news anchors to be fake because of their unrealistic movements, whereas others believe they resemble human newscasters in appearance. Some viewers expressed concern that AI news anchors may be utilized by governments to promote propaganda or negative political messages. Findings indicate that news audiences are increasingly concerned that AI will result in the loss of jobs for real news anchors, deterring people from entering journalism or reporting professions. Due to the low level of trust in news reporting among news audiences, AI news anchors may present additional challenges. It is recommended that media owners do not fully adopt this new technology and that human news anchors not be replaced. Occasionally, AI news anchors may be employed in crisis situations where human anchors cannot work in regular studios.