AI News and Cultural Storytelling : A Q Methodological Study on International Audience Perceptions of AI English News Anchors

This study examines international audiences' perceptions of AI-generated English news anchors used to promote Chinese local culture. Employing Q methodology with a sample of 20 participants from diverse cultural backgrounds, the analysis identified three distinct viewpoint clusters: AI skeptics, collaboration realists, and cost-effectiveness prioritizers. The investigation is grounded in the Human-Machine Communication (HMC) framework, integrated with ritual communication theory, to evaluate AI anchors' efficacy in cultural mediation. Results indicate that while participants recognized AI's technical strengths—such as consistent pronunciation and clear articulation—they exhibited reluctance to develop emotional or parasocial relationships with these anchors. Skeptics highlighted AI's inherent limitations in empathy and cultural nuance, raising concerns about its ability to uphold the symbolic and affective rituals vital for effective cross-cultural exchange. Realists endorsed hybrid human-AI models governed by robust ethical guidelines. Cost-effectiveness prioritizers valued AI's operational efficiencies yet expressed reservations regarding its implications for equitable cultural representation. Overall, the findings underscore that AI deployment in cross-cultural contexts extends beyond technological advancement, fundamentally reshaping communicative agency and the symbolic distinctions between human and machine actors.