Kuwait media welcomes Fedha, its first AI-generated news presenter

In Kuwait, artificial intelligence entered the world of journalism with a virtual presenter becoming the face of online bulletins for a media outlet. Recently, a Kuwaiti news outlet unveiled its new anchor which is generated by artificial intelligence (AI). Named Fedha, the virtual news presenter featured on the social media handles of the news outlet in a black jacket with a plain white T-shirt underneath.

Fedha, a blue-eyed virtual presenter with blonde hair, spoke in Arabic in a short 13-second clip: "I'm Fedha, the first presenter in Kuwait who works with artificial intelligence at Kuwait News. What kind of news do you prefer? Let's hear your opinions." Following her debut, Fedha is set to present news bulletins on the outlet's social media handles in a traditional Kuwaiti accent.

Elucidating the reason behind the name of the virtual presenter, the outlet's deputy editor-in-chief Abdullah Boftain said: "Fedha is a popular, old Kuwaiti name that refers to silver, the metal. We always imagine robots to be silver and metallic in colour, so we combined the two." "Fedha represents everyone," he added. 

Emerging AI technology instills doubts, fears 

Last year, Kuwait bagged the 158th rank out of 180 countries and territories in the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) 2022 Press Freedom Index. While AI has become the newest addition to its journalism industry, the technology continues to instill fear in users over artistic integrity, job opportunities and disinformation. 

In the United States, President Joe Biden recently urged tech giants to "make sure their products are safe before making them public". "AI can help deal with some very difficult challenges like disease and climate change, but it also has to address the potential risks to our society, to our economy, to our national security,” he said last week, according to the Associated Press.