New Arab News podcast tells story of five pivotal decades
DUBAI: Arab News launched a podcast series on Monday about the past five decades of pivotal moments that have changed the Middle East.
The project uses NotebookLM, Google's AI-powered research tool, and features artificial hosts and AI-generated voices.
'This is a first step into what will be a very exciting future, whereby artificial intelligence is going to help us tell the story of the region to a wider audience,' Arab News Editor-in-Chief Faisal J. Abbas said at a reception and talk during the Arab Media Forum in Dubai.
The project illustrated how emerging technology could support storytelling, research, and historical reflection in modern journalism, said Anthony Nakache, managing director of Google MENA. 'By empowering journalists to use AI tools ... we can together forge a dynamic and successful future for journalism in the region,' he said.
Arab News is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its first publication by looking back at those decades and the moments that defined the region. Each episode of the podcast focuses on a decade in Middle East history from 1975 until now.
The series 'comes at a pivotal time in the region, and offers a different way of telling the stories that shaped the Middle East as it is today,' said Tarek Ali Ahmad, head of Arab News Research & Studies.
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