Audience perceptions of AI-driven news presenters: A case of ‘Alice’ in Zimbabwe

Abstract

Digital innovations are transforming newsroom practices across the globe. The advent of artificial intelligence (AI) tools is upending and altering newsmaking and news distribution practices. Whilst there is existing literature on the ever-changing journalism practices due to AI tools in the Global North, scholarship on how these digital innovations are shaping African newsrooms has remained scant. This study uses the case of Alice, an AI-powered newsreader in Zimbabwe, to explore the audience perceptions of this digital innovation. Drawing upon Afrokology, and cultural studies as theoretical frameworks, this qualitative study derived data through digital ethnography and in-depth interviews. Findings demonstrate that there are mixed feelings on the appropriation and use of AI-driven news anchors. On the one hand, some audiences applaud the use of AI news anchors as innovative storytelling techniques. On the other hand, audiences are concerned with Alice’s lack of human emotion, poor accent and perceive her as a threat to traditional journalists’ jobs. Some of the resistance towards Alice indicate a need for decolonising the AI tools in the newsrooms.