In a recent conversation, Ajay Reddy Konda, the CEO of BIG TV, shared insights about the financial benefits of using AI anchors in news broadcasting. He pointed out that the cost of developing an AI news presenter is significantly lower than hiring a human anchor. While a good human anchor may earn between ₹70,000 and ₹80,000 a month, an AI anchor costs only ₹7,000 to ₹8,000 monthly. BIG TV debuted India’s first Telugu AI news anchor in July 2023.
Rishab Sharma, co-founder of the tech company Personate, supported Konda’s views, explaining that paying an upfront fee to create an AI avatar and monthly fees for its operation can be a smarter financial move for news organizations. Sharma’s company has also helped develop AI anchors for popular news outlets like India Today and DD Kisan.
Despite the potential cost savings, there are issues with AI-generated content. Sharma noted that while AI can automate some tasks, it often requires human oversight. “AI anchors tend to hallucinate,” he said, indicating they can sometimes fabricate events that didn’t happen. Typically, human writers and editors prepare scripts manually, which are then uploaded to an AI platform for voice generation and synced with the AI anchor’s movements.
For instance, Konda explained that creating a five-minute news bulletin with their AI anchor takes about two to three hours, including script writing and editing. This reliance on humans raises questions about the purpose of AI in broadcasting. Nivash Jeevanandama, a senior researcher at IndiaAI, criticized the use of AI anchors, arguing that they merely read pre-written scripts, which diminishes their utility.
Even channels like Odisha TV, where AI anchors draft scripts from real-time information, still have a robust verification process. Litisha Mangat Panda, a senior business associate at Odisha TV, emphasized that editors double-check all AI-generated content to ensure it is accurate, especially regarding sensitive topics.
Furthermore, Konda acknowledged that news presentations by AI anchors often lack the emotional depth and engagement exhibited by human presenters, making them feel repetitive and dull.
There’s also a concern about gender representation in AI news anchors. Interestingly, many of the AI presenters introduced by India Today are female. For instance, out of six AI anchors, five are women, including one news presenter known as Naina, described as “Bhojpuri Bhabhi” while delivering news in Bhojpuri.
In summary, while AI anchors offer a financially attractive alternative to human presenters, their effectiveness and representation still raise important questions in the evolving landscape of news media.
