Europe 1 with AFP 18:30 p.m., April 10, 2023

Dressed in a white-collared T-shirt, covered with a black jacket, "Fedha", a virtual TV host, generated by artificial intelligence, appeared on the Twitter account of the news site Kuwait News. The video has sparked widespread reactions, including from local journalists who are worried about their future.

A Kuwaiti media outlet unveiled this week a virtual TV host, generated by artificial intelligence, with the ambition to entrust her with the presentation of a news program in the Gulf country. Dressed in a white V-neck T-shirt, covered with a black jacket, "Fedha" appeared Saturday on the Twitter account of the news site Kuwait News, as part of a project still in the test phase.

أول مذيعة في #الكويت تعمل بالذكاء الاصطناعي

• #فضة.. مذيعة #كويت_نيوز الافتراضية

• ما هي نوعية الأخبار التي تفضلونها بتقديم #فضة زميلتنا الجديدة؟ .. شاركونا آراءكم pic.twitter.com/VlVjasSdpb

— كويت نيوز (@KuwaitNews) April 8, 2023

"I am Fedha, the first presenter in Kuwait who works with artificial intelligence at Kuwait News. What kind of news do you prefer? Let's listen to your opinions," she said in classical Arabic. The site, affiliated with Kuwait Times, the first English-language daily in the Gulf founded in 1961, is testing the potential of artificial intelligence to offer "new and innovative content", its deputy editor, Abdullah Boftain, told AFP. According to him, the presenter could in the future adopt the Kuwaiti accent and present a news bulletin on the Twitter account of Kuwait News, followed by more than 1.2 million followers.

'Our jobs are at risk'

"Fedha is an old popular Kuwaiti name that refers to silver, metal. We always imagine the robots of silver and metal color, so we combined the two," said Abdullah Boftain. As for the physical appearance of the presenter, blonde with light eyes, it reflects, according to him, the diversity of the population in this oil-rich country, composed of Kuwaitis and expatriates. "Fedha represents everyone," he added.

>>

READ ALSO – Yvelines: at the town hall of Plaisir, the artificial intelligence Optimus answers the phone

His 13-second presentation video sparked many reactions on social media, especially from journalists. "Our jobs are at risk. Will Fedha and her colleagues be our replacements in the near future?" one asked.