Don't be fooled: Local university publication pokes fun at AI newscasting
This video of an AI newscaster is going viral, but don't get fooled—it's a human broadcaster!
The emergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has somehow quickly taken over most of the roles originally done by humans. Because of its convenience and amusing power to generate almost human-like responses, many have pointed out its posed threats not only to academic and work integrity but also to taking over jobs.
The College Forum, the official campus publication from Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University – South La Union Campus (DMMMSU-SLUC) has recently gone viral for its parody of AI newscasting, with its very own “AI newscaster.”
In its parody video uploaded on Tuesday, Oct. 24, AI newscaster Leah can be seen delivering “news” like a real AI—from the lack of emotions to the monotonous tone, and the lagging actions.
“Meet Leah! The College Forum's first human AI newscaster who will bring real-time news and updates about the latest happenings in DMMMSU-SLUC,” they wrote in the caption.
“Through the initiative of TCF’s multimedia team, the publication now brings innovation to the broadcasting system of the University. Dubbed as ‘a revolutionary addition to the team’, this human AI newscaster, like any other artificial broadcasters, has the ability to broadcast like actual AI journalist,” they added in their satirical caption.
In the video, “AI-powered” Leah delivered the news about the upcoming sports event on their campus. Nearing the end, she broke away from the role, and flashed: “Worried about AI taking over our jobs? Why don’t we take theirs?”
It also shared some behind-the-scenes, including bloopers in filming the introduction video.
The satirical video has garnered almost 20,000 reactions and over 2,000 shares.
Meanwhile, to emphasize their goal with the satire video, the campus clarified there was no “such technology” used and that the report was only made up solely for the video.
“The content in the video is purely satirical,” they wrote in the comments section.
“The publication has no such technology and the report provided is made up for the purpose of the video. We advise the viewers to watch until the end before reacting and commenting. Thank you,” they added.
This comes a month after television network GMA launched AI-powered sportscasters to cover the NCAA season 99 event. It immediately drew flak, raising concerns about taking over jobs from more skillful media workers.
"I have nothing against technology and how it makes things easier for humans to do things. But for someone who devoted a lifetime to developing my craft as a sports commentator and host, this alarms me," prominent sports commentator Mark Zambrano previously wrote, adding that the human element, which elevates viewers’ experience, is “non-negotiable.”
Journalist Jameela Alindogan, for her part, reiterated that technology should only be used as a tool.
"Avatars can have the perfect eyebrows, the perfect hair and the perfect skin… and even kung gusto mo…. any accent you want. British? American? Why not? But it’s not the same," she previously wrote.
"Technological tools should remain just that—mere tools. I read this somewhere… Artificial journalism. More than an oxymoron; I think it's an abomination. Now more than ever, we should aim for 'boots on the ground' journalism," she added.