Jim Regan -- Site Reviews
Ananova.com -- home of the world's first virtual newscaster
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The concept of a machine reporting breaking news is nothing new -- even stock tickers filled that role in their limited way -- but the Internet has greatly expanded the practice, both in terms of content and access. Not only has it become possible for we 'just plain folks' to have instant access to information before it is filtered and edited to accommodate radio or TV broadcasts, but we can also obtain news that the networks might not think worth reporting - such as minor league hockey scores or local election results.
Now, from across the pond, the Press Association (the national news agency of the UK and Ireland) has decided that text is not enough, and is in the process of creating Ananova -- a Max Headroom descendant who will give a 'human' face (albeit a virtual human face) to online news. Under development for nine months, Ananova is currently undergoing final beta testing, and at this point, the Web site is essentially an ad for a soon to be released product, but there's still enough here to intrigue the average surfer -- not to mention anthropologists and media watchers.
(Editor's Note-04/20/00: The site is now live and you can see Ananova in action.)
Though not the intentional purpose of the site, Ananova.com highlights the disappearing boundaries between the virtual and real worlds and between news and entertainment. Although the content of what Ananova reports will presumably be no different than that of a standard AP or Reuters news release, the first fact noted by the current home page is the "deluge" of fan mail that the non-existent newscaster has generated. (Fan mail, not only to a virtual being, but a virtual being that the public hasn't yet seen in action.)
To the right of the home page is a small portrait and a link to ...what makes her tick?, which, rather than explain the technology behind the product, gives us Ananova's 'turn-ons and turnoffs, and tells us that she "... has been programmed as 28 years old, 5' 8" tall," (though, presumably, that would depend on your monitor size) and that "... she may be hyper intelligent... but she's not a show-off." (After all, nobody likes a show-off.) A Latest News list includes press and public responses to Ananova, a response to the responses, ("Hey Good-looking!") and a FAQ list with a few technical details. More about the creation and its creators can be found under About Ananova.
Scroll down the home page, and the site reveals a larger copy of the portrait, along with a debate about which celebrity she most resembles, and a promotion soliciting photos from Ananova wannabes. The face is, naturally, flawless. (It will be interesting to see if Ananova is given a few cyber wrinkles as the years pass.) At the moment there are no samples of Ananova's synthesized voice -- which is still undergoing fine tuning -- but it's a safe bet that it will be more Kathleen Turner than Phyllis Diller.
As with many news portals, it will be possible to personalize Ananova's reporting to each surfer's needs. The press Association also intends to make Ananova available over other media, such as Television and mobile phones. Considering the facts that computers are already capable of limited speech recognition, and broadband internet access means that surfers are always logged on, we'll soon thing nothing of walking in the door and, from across the room, asking Ananova or one of her successors for the latest baseball scores, then having them read out to us as we take off our coats. Not Star Trek yet - but not that far from it either.
And yet there are the dark possibilities as well -- possibilities we'd rather not contemplate. If Ananova is eventually given a co-anchor, will they engage in mind numbing 'best buddies' banter between stories? Will there be an annoying weather forecaster (who will not be able to escape the name, Chip) reading e-mails from octogenarians in Sheboygan. How do Ananova's moral parameters feel about endorsing dog food?
And, more seriously, what is the effect on 'the news' when we are encouraged to care more about a newscasters' (even a virtual newscaster) 'personality' than her ability to gather, digest, and distribute information -- which in this case especially, must be genuinely impressive. True, we're only talking about a computerized creation here -- it's not as if the major networks are setting up fan clubs for their news anchors.
But the boundaries are disappearing...
Ananova can be found at http://www.ananova.com/.
Jim Regan provides 'Today's Links' to the e--Monitor. He lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.