Kuwait launches its 1st AI broadcaster

ALBAWABA - A Kuwaiti electronic newspaper has launched its first virtual broadcaster that works with artificial intelligence, as part of a testing phase through which the outlet aims to create new content.

"Fedda" appeared for the first time on the account of the electronic newspaper "Kuwait News" on Twitter, where a technical team is currently monitoring people's observations to take them into account.

The blonde virtual anchor appeared, in a short video, donning a formal dress, while talking to the audience. She said: "I am Fedda, the first anchor in Kuwait working with artificial intelligence at the Kuwait News Media Corporation. What type of news do you prefer? Let's hear your opinions."

Abdullah Bouftin, a news co-director at "Kuwait News," said in a statement that a specialized team will evaluate and monitor observations, pointing to the possibility that Fedda will later use the Kuwaiti dialect to present its news on the newspaper's account on Twitter platform.

On the reasons for the name of the virtual anchor, he said that "Fedda is an old popular Kuwaiti name that symbolizes the metal of silver, and that the stereotyped image in the mind of robots is always silver in color and made of metal."

Social media pioneers in Kuwait and the Arab world were quick to interact, with some supporting the development and others opposed to it, anxious that many people may eventually lose their jobs due to artificial intelligence.

Controversy was also raised in a number of tweets about the appearance of the virtual anchor, given that she is blonde and speaks in a dialect other than the Kuwaiti dialect. Users demanded that she be developed in the future in terms of sound and features, including hair color.

Kuwait News is affiliated with the "Kuwait Times" newspaper, the first daily to start publishing in English language in Kuwait and the Arabian Gulf 61 years ago.