El Pana and La Chama look like two regular news anchor colleagues, except they’re not. The Venezuelan duo have been created by artificial intelligence to deliver daily headlines.
The pair were created as part of an initiative to publish news in Venezuela, where repression and media censorship are at all-time highs.
Reports of arbitrary detentions, forced disappearances, and torture of political dissidents have skyrocketed following claims that the country’s current president, Nicolas Maduro, stole the July 28 election.
Find out how Venezuela is using AI to broadcast its news:
On this episode of The Briefing, Chris Spyrou is joined by El Pana and La Chama, as well as senior LiSTNR investigative journalist Claudianna Blanco, to unpack why this tech is necessary and the political state of Venezuela at the moment.
“The United Nations recently declared that the scale of repression is unprecedented in Venezuela and amounts to crimes against humanity. In fact, they have recollected evidence of torture, cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment as well as sexual violence against women, girls and men,” Blanco said.
“Many of those considered to be enemies also have had their passports inexplicably annulled, and they’ve received threats against their security and the safety of their families.
“Many foreign correspondents have been expelled and inconsiderate, and a significant number of Venezuelan journalists are now either in exile or hiding.”
Make sure you listen to the episode of The Briefing where you’ll also hear from our first two AI guests, El Pana and La Chama who explain their roles and why they were created.