Kannada news channel News 1st has unveiled what it bills as South India’s first AI-based meta-human news anchor, AI Maya.
The channel claims that Maya can do everything a regular news anchor can. She will be on News 1st Kannada everyday.
“News 1st is at the forefront of programming and technological innovation. We’ve always been the first to adapt and adopt, be it broadcast technology, on air graphics softwares, programme content or programme names. So moving first on AI and integrating an AI-based meta-human news anchor into our broadcasting was only natural for us,” said, S Ravikumar, MD & CEO, News 1st Kannada.
It took the channel three months to evolve, identify and create the AI model, who is conversant in multiple languages and ready to deliver news in English. For News 1st viewers, she will start by delivering news in Kannada on TV and digital.
“We are looking for Maya to utilise machine learning algorithms to revolutionise TV presentation by a meta-human. We will be deploying this for news and special stories,” said, Maruthi SH, Editor-in-Chief, News 1st Kannada.
“This is just the beginning. Maya has delivered her first news bulletin and showcased her knowledge and linguistic capabilities in English and Kannada. We are now working on training her to deliver a more interactive programme soon,” added, Ravikumar.
The MD & CEO interviewed AI Maya to understand her capabilities in news presentation. The question and answer session was aired by News 1st Kannada at 8.30 pm on Thursday, July 13, 2023.
A daily show ‘Ask Maya’ is in the works. Viewers can pose questions to maya via a dedicated WhatsApp number or email ID. Five chosen viewer questions of the day will be answered by Maya at a scheduled time slot.
The News 1st team is working to make Maya more interactive to be able to answer questions in real time and replace the traditional news delivery.
AI Maya was born in collaboration with News 1st Kannada and JustBaat Mediatech & Media Consultia.
