As a presenter I can tell you, TV news needs a human touch. This AI newsreader won’t give you that | Simon McCoy

As a presenter I can tell you, TV news needs a human touch. This AI newsreader won’t give you that | Simon McCoy

They may be cheaper and less trouble, but they’ll never have the gravitas, the engagement or the raised eyebrow of reporters like me

“The news is … there is no news.” With those words, outside St Mary’s Hospital in London awaiting the birth of Prince George in July 2013, my reporting for the BBC went viral on the internet. My somewhat testy response to standing in the street with nothing to say had struck a chord with many. Not for what I was saying but the way I was saying it. The resigned look. The world-weary tone. The slight annoyance that four decades of reporting from around the globe had led to this moment. I couldn’t hide it. Viewers knew what I was thinking and feeling. Some were annoyed by it. Quite a few people appreciated it – because they could relate to it. Because they are human. And so am I.

“Fedha” is not human. Yes, the blond woman with light-coloured eyes, wearing a black jacket and a white T-shirt, looks human. She even sounds human. But this week she was introduced as the first presenter in Kuwait who works by artificial intelligence. “What kind of news do you prefer? Let’s hear your opinions,” she says in Arabic.

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