United Nations News: “Radio remains essential”

Artificial intelligence is transforming the global audio landscape. In China, these shifts are unfolding at remarkable speed, with the podcast audience already exceeding 150 million and expected to grow further.

UN News Chinese heard from professor Sun Shaojing of Fudan University that audio content is becoming deeply woven into daily life, from electric vehicles navigating crowded cities to smart devices accompanying moments of solitude.

He notes that AI‑generated news presenters and synthetic voices are becoming increasingly common, offering accuracy, efficiency and multilingual reach on a scale once unimaginable. Yet, within this technological precision, professor Sun identifies a paradox: the very imperfections of human speech – the pauses, hesitations and emotional textures – are what give voice its soul.

“When reporting on disaster scenes, affected individuals, their suffering and their needs, AI would lose many of the emotional and empathetic dimensions that require human compassion and connection. It would not achieve the same depth of emotional impact or resonance,” he said.

United Nations News, February 12, 2026

 

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