ABU DHABI, United Arab
Emirates, April 28, 2019
/PRNewswire/ -- Abu Dhabi Media ("ADM" or the Company), one of
the fastest growing, multi-platform media and entertainment
organizations in the Middle East
and Sogou Inc. (NYSE: SOGO), an innovator in search and a leader in
China's internet industry, today
jointly announced the development of the first AI News Anchor that
will present news in Arabic and English on ADM's channels. This
cements ADM's ongoing efforts to utilize the latest technologies
and Sogou's leading AI capabilities. It follows the partnership
agreement signed between ADM and Sogou, in cooperation with the UAE
Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence. The AI News Anchor
is the first Arabic-speaking in the world with the ability to
interact through face expressions with the Arabic language.
This announcement was made during a special signing ceremony at
ADM's headquarters. The event was attended by His Excellency Omar
Sultan Al Olama, Minister of Artificial Intelligence. The agreement
was signed by His Excellency Dr. Ali Bin
Tamim, Director General of ADM, and Wang Yanfeng, General
Manager of Voice Interaction Technology Center of Sogou.
Noura Bint Mohammed Al Kaabi,
Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development and Chairwoman of the
Board of Directors of ADM, explained that this step aligns with the
Company's strategic plans which seek to keep up with digital
advances in the media industry and adopt the latest available
digital technologies, particularly in AI.
Noura Al Kaabi said the AI news
anchor will support ADM's efforts to provide guided and diverse
content according to the highest international standards that meet
the needs of the Company's large audience base across the
Arab world.
His Excellency Omar Sultan Al Olama, Minister of Artificial
Intelligence, said: "The use of artificial intelligence and
technological tools in the media sector will result in a
qualitative leap forward within the media landscape in the UAE and
the wider region. The use of these advanced solutions will benefit
the industry by enriching media content, supporting media
research, and providing new opportunities for young professionals
to build new skillsets suited to future media channels. The
deployment of this advanced technology presents us with the
opportunity to further define the future of the sector in a way
that benefits all members of society."
"These new developments within the media sector are in line with
the UAE Government's strategy of developing unique new models and
systems built around artificial intelligence and advanced
technologies that support the nation's transformation into a
knowledge based society and economy," added H.E. Al Olama.
Incorporating the industry-leading algorithms and latest
advances in speech synthesis, image detection and deep learning,
the AI news anchor presents a lifelike resemblance of a
professional human anchor, providing an increasingly seamless
experience for viewers. With Sogou's technology, textual input can
be transformed into corresponding lip movements, providing users
with a highly customizable interactive experience. With a focus on
natural language processing and machine learning, Sogou has
developed industry-leading capabilities in real-time audio and
video synthesis. Together, ADM and Sogou are working to explore how
technological innovation can be better integrated across media
platforms, providing high quality programming for audiences
worldwide.
With the integration of the AI news anchor, ADM's platform will
be able to provide news broadcasts more efficiently, in a range of
engaging formats, and potentially 24/7/365. Sogou's technology not
only provides innovative solutions for traditional media channels
but also works to facilitate more natural interactions between
humans and machines.
His Excellency Dr. Ali Bin Tamim,
Director General of Abu Dhabi Media, said that by launching the AI
news anchor, ADM is writing a new chapter in Arab media. It also keeps pace with the
Company's efforts to develop all its brands according to strategic
plans that aim to realize a quantum leap in providing media content
across digital, TV, print, and audio platforms.
HE Dr. Ali Bin Tamim also said:
"Through this agreement, Abu Dhabi Media will develop this
technology and present it to its audience, enhancing the company's
presence and the quality of its content, further bolstering its
leading position as one of the most prestigious media
establishments in the region and the world."
Wang Yanfeng, General Manager of Sogou's Voice Interaction
Technology Center, said, "We are extremely pleased to partner with
Abu Dhabi Media, a pioneering multi-platform media and
entertainment organization. We look forward to sharing our AI News
Anchor technology with an increasingly global audience. This marks
the first time that Sogou's AI News Anchor technology is being
leveraged by an international media platform, and together we are
thrilled to bring the AI News Anchor to Arabic-speaking
viewers."
Safe Harbor Statement
This announcement contains forward-looking statements.
Statements that are not historical facts, including statements
about our beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements.
These statements are based on current plans, estimates, and
projections, which involve inherent risks and uncertainties. We
caution you that a number of important factors could cause actual
results to differ materially from those contained in any
forward-looking statement. Potential risks and uncertainties
include, but are not limited to, intense competition in the market
for search and search-related services; our need to continually
innovate and adapt in order to grow our business; our reliance on
Tencent platforms for a significant
portion of our user traffic; and uncertainty regarding the extent
and reach of PRC governmental regulation of sponsored search.
Further information regarding these and other risks is included in
Sogou's Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2018 filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission on March 28,
2019, and other documents Sogou files with or submits to the
Securities and Exchange Commission.
About Sogou
Sogou Inc. (NYSE: SOGO) is an innovator in search and a leader
in China's internet industry. With
a mission to make it easy to communicate and get information, Sogou
has grown to become the second largest search engine by mobile
queries and the fourth largest internet company by MAU in
China. Sogou has a wide range of
innovative products and services including the Sogou Input Method,
which is the largest Chinese language input software for both
mobile and PC. Sogou is also at the forefront of AI development and
has made significant breakthroughs in voice and image technologies,
machine translation, and Q&A, which have been successfully
integrated into our products and services.
For media enquiries, please contact:
Rachael Layfield
Brunswick Group
Tel: +86 10 5960 8600
Email: sogou@brunswickgroup.com
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