Chinese news agency Xinhua has unveiled its latest TV presenter, Xin Xiaomeng. Why is this an event? Because Xin is not human. It is a computer-generated, ultra-realistic and officiating numerical model thanks to advanced artificial intelligence.

Xian Xiaomeng introduced herself to her viewers in a brief appearance, just announcing that she would make her debut as a presenter in March. It was designed in collaboration with the search engine Sogou. Her appearance and her voice were inspired by those of another presenter, very real this time, Qu Meng.

This announcement comes three months after the one, very similar, of two male versions. Today, both have more than 3,400 reports for more than 10,000 minutes of video. Since November, they have also evolved a lot. In their early days, they sat at their desks and contented themselves with minimal dialogue. Today, Xin Xiahao, one of the digital presenters, stands up and talks about the updates he received.

If these computer models do not perfectly reproduce human gestures – this is particularly true at the level of the lips – they are still very realistic. For now, they can not threaten the job of presenter but Xin Xiaomeng and his colleagues will one day become perfect candidates for this kind of job.