A Kuwaiti news outlet has unveiled the country's first ever virtual news presenter generated using artificial intelligence, with plans for her to read online bulletins.
Kuwait News stunned social media users by uploading a short clip of 'Fedha' - an AI-generated blonde-haired female news reader as she introduced herself.
'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,' she said in Arabic.
Abdullah Boftain, deputy editor in chief for both outlets, said the move is a test of AI's potential to offer 'new and innovative content'.
In future Fedha could adopt the Kuwaiti accent and present news bulletins on the site's Twitter account, which has 1.2 million followers, he 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,' Boftain said.
The presenter’s blonde hair and light-coloured eyes reflect the oil-rich country’s diverse population of Kuwaitis and expatriates, according to Boftain.
