This study explores how international audiences perceive AI-generated English-speaking news anchors deployed to promote Chinese local culture. Framed within the Human-Machine Communication (HMC) paradigm and enriched by ritual communication theory, the research assesses the role of AI anchors in cultural mediation. Using Q methodology with a diverse sample of 20 participants, the analysis revealed three distinct attitudinal clusters: AI skeptics, collaboration realists, and cost-effectiveness prioritizers. While participants acknowledged AI’s technical advantages—such as consistent pronunciation and precise articulation, they expressed hesitation about forming emotional or parasocial bonds with these synthetic presenters. Notably, concerns emerged regarding AI’s capacity to sustain the symbolic and affective rituals essential for meaningful cross-cultural communication. Collaboration realists advocated for hybrid human–AI approaches, whereas cost-effectiveness prioritizers emphasized AI’s operational efficiencies. Collectively, the findings highlight that deploying AI in cross-cultural settings involves more than technological capability—it actively reconfigures the nature of communicative agency.
Zhang et al. (Sun,) studied this question.