Doha: Qatar News Agency (QNA) has announced the expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) programmes in the work of its various departments, in cooperation with Microsoft, to keep pace with the developments that the world is undergoing in terms of use of these technologies.
According to the plan adopted by QNA, expanding the use of AI programmes during the coming period will be at the level of the news services and other services it provides within the scope of its specialisations and the tasks assigned to it, in a manner that facilitates the completion of work, speeds up its pace, and positively reflects on the on the quality of services provided.
In this regard, Director-General of QNA H E Ahmed bin Saeed Al Rumaihi said that technology has become one of the factors that help provide the best services at the level of all sectors, adding that it has also become a common denominator in media work in particular.
He stressed QNA’s keenness to keep pace with this development continuously in a way that serves its work and improves its services, pointing out that the agency will expand the use of AI programmes in its operations during the coming period.
Al Rumaihi noted that QNA is always working on developing its services by employing technology efficiently and masterfully in the various stages of monitoring, analysis, production, publication, and follow-ups.
By introducing AI programmes, QNA will add brand new features to its services, especially since the agency has witnessed a huge and comprehensive development plan in form and content during the past few years, which included news content that has expanded significantly to add coverage of various local, regional and international events, while ensuring keenness to provide its media services in five languages (Arabic, English, French, German and Spanish), in addition to the simultaneous translation service for its news in 26 languages, he said.
Al Rumaihi highlighted the development witnessed by QNA in its digital platforms and digital news services, which the agency now provides in a professional manner, whether in terms of news content or editing photos, infographics and video material, indicating that QNA always receives positive reactions from both the public and recipients of its services.
In June, Qatar News Agency received an award for the innovation in using AI at the awards ceremony held within Microsoft’s exclusive event ‘Leading the Era of AI,’ His Excellency said, noting that winning this award confirms QNA’s keenness to benefit from AI technologies to develop work performance and advance its media services.
Director of the Technical Affairs Department at QNA Eng Khalid Al Mutawaa said that introducing Al programmes to the agency’s work will contribute to the speed of creating news content in the agency’s various forms — whether it is written, visual or audio content, while ensuring the required accuracy in a way that saves both time and effort and increases the quality of news services provided by the agency.
