Can AI applications replace presenters?
Normally, it takes a lot of time and effort for a press agency to create a complete television work, especially with the increasingly fast competition for information from other platforms. Seeing that limitation, many television press agencies have recently applied technology and AI in the process of producing press works.
Many TV stations in countries around the world have launched MCs based on AI technology. Since 2022, major TV stations in the US, India, Korea, and Japan have developed AI MCs for their TV shows. Viewers can watch AI MCs present news bulletins.
At Vietnam Television, based on data from a real Editor, an AI Editor was built to simulate intonation, voice, expression, and facial movements. Photo: VTV
For domestic use, press agencies have now applied technology to convert video tapes and recordings into text, and convert online meeting content into text. In particular, building a virtual MC who can read news accurately and host programs in many different languages. Without stumbling or making spelling mistakes, these MCs are used in emergency situations, when news must be updated continuously without an MC or announcer.
Editor, MC Truong Viet Phong - Vietnam National Assembly Television said, Applying artificial intelligence (AI) to create virtual models, announcers or presenters is a popular trend, helping to create products and services that previously took a lot of time and money to implement. There have been programs hosted by virtual MCs in many domestic and international press agencies that have created a buzz. Bringing good communication effects, attracting many people's attention.
Mr. Nguyen Truong Giang, Director of the Television Technical Center, Vietnam Television, shared that AI is currently widely applied in television. AI helps support the production of television content by creating television clips from text descriptions. In particular, AI is capable of creating MCs to broadcast weather programs.
Mr. Nguyen Truong Giang added that currently at Vietnam Television, AI is being applied very usefully in automatic tape extraction, actively supporting the work of reporters, saving time in post-production, meeting the requirement of fast updates for news articles. In addition, AI also automates data extraction, automatically creates video subtitles according to timecode, summarizes video content and extracts prominent keywords of the video.
Vietnam Television has used AI to create a virtual MC. Based on data from a real Editor, an AI Editor was built to simulate the intonation, voice, expression, and facial movements (Avatar or virtual person). Giving the virtual MC a news segment will create a video with images reading the news like a real editor.
“It can be said that applying AI in television is feasible and also an inevitable trend. Press agencies can apply AI in all stages from content ideation to program production techniques to increase content quality, speed, accuracy… in program production,” Mr. Nguyen Truong Giang shared.
Take advantage of advantages, limit disadvantages
The undeniable advantage of virtual hosts is that they can work continuously without rest, low cost, helping to improve work efficiency and reduce the cost of producing television programs.
However, many people are concerned that the use of virtual hosts with machine voices will lose the appeal and appeal of television programs. Viewers will feel bored when they can no longer see real human expressions when facing news, issues that are of public interest or shocking.
A virtual editor created by artificial intelligence technology of Lao Dong newspaper. Photo: LDO
Journalist Ngo Tran Thinh, Head of Digital Content Department, News Center, Ho Chi Minh City Television (HTV) shared: "At HTV, we use AI to create program hosts, but it is only for illustration purposes. When each reporter is on air about an issue or event, the MC still goes out to work. To get complete and accurate information and images, the MC must go to that place. Therefore, although the station currently uses a lot of AI in many stages, the station's MCs and editors still work and dedicate themselves.
Some TV shows use AI as hosts, but they label the screen as the virtual host reading, so that viewers can easily distinguish. However, through testing, we found that virtual hosts do not create excitement and joy for the audience. The TV shows of the TV station always prioritize live TV hosts, even at the scene, to have the highest quality and most authentic visual information.
Sharing about this issue, journalist Le Quoc Minh, member of the Party Central Committee, Editor-in-Chief of Nhan Dan Newspaper, Deputy Head of the Central Propaganda Department, Chairman of the Vietnam Journalists Association said: In some developed countries, AI-created MCs are capable of acting, answering questions, with facial expressions, emotions, and hands and feet that move like real people. Real MCs will communicate directly with virtual MCs.
For domestic press agencies, which are often at a more basic level, we use AI to read the dialogue and subtitles based on prepared content from pre-written news. This is easy to use and quite popular.
Regarding whether virtual MCs can replace real hosts, journalist Le Quoc Minh commented: Real MCs, with their good looks, expertise, and expressions, still attract more viewers. We believe that MC is a creative job, requiring improvisation, which virtual MCs cannot replace in the near future.
“Editors should not worry about whether they will lose their job as presenters to AI or not, but need to understand it, know its advantages and disadvantages, and think about how to take advantage of AI. What technology machines are good at, in what situations, editors can take advantage of that stage. All to achieve the best efficiency in the production process,” emphasized journalist Le Quoc Minh.
Source: https://www.congluan.vn/ung-dung-ai-thay-the-nguoi-dan-chuong-trinh-dang-mung-hay-dang-lo-post310794.html
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