Will AI make news reporters a thing of the past?

Last year, China’s state-run news agency Xinhua announced the latest addition to its team of news reporters.

Qiu Hao, dressed in a pinstripe suit and red tie, made his first broadcast in November.

However, unlike his colleagues, the news reporter is not real.

“I am the Chinese AI anchor who just joined Xinhua news agency today,” he said, “my appearance and voice are based on Xinhua news reporter Qiu Hao. But I never need to rest. I offer more than non-stop service 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.”

Developed in collaboration with Chinese search engine Sogou, the news anchor uses machine learning to simulate the voice, gestures and movements of human broadcasters. 

The artificial intelligence reporter revealed in a broadcast that he was created by “face recognition, face modelling, speech synthesis, deep learning and other intelligence techniques.”

The real Qiu Hao, on which the digital news reporter is modelled, said that he has mixed feelings upon learning about it. He said that he was curious and intrigued, yet still wondered if he could be replaced. 

“I admit its accuracy and efficiency are way better than me,” he said at the time. However, he believes he has the edge over his digital counterpart, due to his own “richer emotions” and “a more realistic human voice”.


Not content with just one digital news anchor, Xinhua then revealed that they were working on more.

At the World Internet Conference in the city of Wuzhen, Xinhua debuted Zhang Zhow, who broadcasts in English.

This February, the news agency then announced the world’s first female AI news reporter, Xin Xiaomeng.

To date, the AI-powered news reporters have delivered thousands of broadcasts, clocking tens of thousands of minutes behind the desk, all of which the AI news anchors use to improve through deep learning models, developed by some of China’s most innovative AI researchers.


READ MORE: China begins 6G research and development 



China is home to some of the largest tech companies in the world, consistently demonstrating fast growth in artificial intelligence, big data, 5G, Internet of Things and robotics.

However, some industry commentators are concerned by the use of some of the technologies being deployed by state-owned enterprises. Facial and gait recognition is being used nation-wide to monitor citizens, and these SOEs also benefit from preferential government treatment, affording them access to over 1 billion consumers, with untold caches of data.

By leveraging these advantages, the nation’s SOEs are cementing China’s position as a world leader in science and technology research and development, following government roadmaps such as ‘New Generation of Artificial Intelligence Development Plan’ and ‘Made in China 2025’.


Could China claim a global monopoly on technological standards, should their innovation continue to outpace the west? And will their artificial intelligence-powered news reporters one day render their human colleagues obsolete?

Luke Conrad

Technology & Marketing Enthusiast

How E-commerce Marketers Can Win Black Friday

Sue Azari • 11th November 2024

As new global eCommerce players expand their influence across both European and US markets, traditional brands are navigating a rapidly shifting landscape. These fast-growing Asian platforms have gained traction by offering ultra-low prices, rapid product turnarounds, heavy investment in paid user acquisition, and leveraging viral social media trends to create demand almost in real-time. This...

Why microgrids are big news

Craig Tropea • 31st October 2024

As the world continues its march towards a greener future, businesses, communities, and individuals alike are all increasingly turning towards renewable energy sources to power their operations. What is most interesting, though, is how many of them are taking the pro-active position of researching, selecting, and implementing their preferred solutions without the assistance of traditional...

Is automation the silver bullet for customer retention?

Carter Busse • 22nd October 2024

CX innovation has accelerated rapidly since 2020, as business and consumer expectations evolved dramatically during the Covid-19 pandemic. Now, finding the best way to engage and respond to customers has become a top business priority and a key business challenge. Not only do customers expect the highest standard, but companies are prioritising superb CX to...

Automated Testing Tools and Their Impact on Software Quality

Natalia Yanchii • 09th October 2024

Test automation refers to using specialized software tools and frameworks to automate the execution of test cases, thereby reducing the time and effort required for manual testing. This approach ensures that automation tests run quickly and consistently, allowing development teams to identify and resolve defects more effectively. Test automation provides greater accuracy by eliminating human...

Custom Software Development

Natalia Yanchii • 04th October 2024

There is a wide performance gap between industry-leading companies and other market players. What helps these top businesses outperform their competitors? McKinsey & Company researchers are confident that these are digital technologies and custom software solutions. Nearly 70% of the top performers develop their proprietary products to differentiate themselves from competitors and drive growth. As...

The Impact of Test Automation on Software Quality

Natalia Yanchii • 04th October 2024

Software systems have become highly complex now, with multiple interconnected components, diverse user interfaces, and business logic. To ensure quality, QA engineers thoroughly test these systems through either automated or manual testing. At Testlum, we met many software development teams who were pressured to deliver new features and updates at a faster pace. The manual...