First ever non-human news presenter sparks eerie debate

The rate at which us human are technologically advancing is pretty mad, if you ask us.

From the advent of social media and the revolution of the air fryer all the way through to space tourism and, of course, the boom of artificial intelligence - it's clear we've really accelerated the speed of our modernisation through the roof this side of the millennium.

But, like with any major technical development, there's always a side dish of understandable skepticism, concern and straight-up panic and that's proven to be exactly the case when it comes to the weird and wonderful world of AI.

Whether that's US President Donald Trump's bizarre AI-generated social media posts, the dozens of jobs 'at risk' of being replaced by AI, the entrance of AI 'actors' into the Hollywood scene, the impacts services like ChatGPT can have on children's mental health, the deepfake sexually explicit content being made using the tech and various other crimes that have centred around AI - it makes sense why some people have such an aversion to it.

Channel 4's Dispatches made TV history after using the world's first ever non-human news presenter (Channel 4)

Channel 4 expertly showed just how good AI content has got in the last few years with a news special, aptly titled Will AI Take My Job?, which investigated how automation is reshaping the workplace and pitting humans against machines.

At the end of the hour-long programme which aired just yesterday (20 October), viewers were in for a serious shock when the news anchor, who narrates and appears throughout the Dispatches doc from different locations, reveals she is entirely AI-generated.

In the final moments of the special, the host says: "AI is going to touch everybody’s lives in the next few years. And for some, it will take their jobs. Call centre workers? Customer service agents?

"Maybe even TV presenters like me. Because I’m not real. In a British TV first, I’m an AI presenter. Some of you might have guessed: I don’t exist, I wasn’t on location reporting this story. My image and voice were generated using AI."

Channel 4 has said that Monday's broadcast has made it the first British television show to feature an AI presenter with the 'anchor' being produced by AI fashion brand Seraphinne Vallora for Kalel Productions and was guided by prompts to create a realistic on-camera performance.

After catching light of the news, people rushed to social media to share their thoughts.

One X user penned: "I admit it - I couldn’t tell she was fake. This definitely raises difficult questions (what’s real/not real? What will the majority of humans do once they’re obsolete?)."

A second chimed in: "Just from this clip, I would not have guessed. This is the best AI avatar I've seen to date."

A third wrote: "Channel 4 presented a show about if AI will take our jobs. The catch? The presenter was revealed as AI right at the end! It's pretty good but if you look close you'll see a few issues."

"The TV equivalent of those awful articles/YouTubes a few years ago that ended with the ‘shock’ disclaimer that the entire thing was written by AI," hit out a fourth, while someone else piped up: "Yes I guessed. The shots were too neatly framed, her diction was a bit off & there was a massive clue in her name!"

The Dispatches documentary has sparked a heated debate online (Channel 4)

"As long as this is a one time thing that’s actually a really impressive twist," outlined a final X user. "Talk about how AI can take jobs then prove it by revealing it was an AI that took a job that warned you about AI taking jobs.

"Never again though. Points made let’s leave it there."

Louisa Compton, Channel 4’s Head of News and Current Affairs, said: "The use of an AI presenter is not something we will be making a habit of at Channel 4 — instead our focus in news and current affairs is on premium, fact checked, duly impartial and trusted journalism — something AI is not capable of doing.

"But this stunt does serve as a useful reminder of just how disruptive AI has the potential to be — and how easy it is to hoodwink audiences with content they have no way of verifying."

Tyla has reached out to Channel 4 for further comment.