--- title: "Russia Built a Grotesque Robot Newscaster and Put It on TV" description: "A humanoid robot TV news anchor dubbed Alex just read the news of the day on Russia 24, a state-owned television channel." date: "2019-04-17" modified: "2019-04-17" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/russia-robot-newscaster-news" categories: - "Robotics" - "Robots and Machines" tags: - "news" - "robot" - "Russia" - "the digest" --- # Russia Built a Grotesque Robot Newscaster and Put It on TV ![A humanoid robot TV news anchor dubbed Alex just read the news on Russia 24, a state-owned television channel, yesterday.]() *\Image: Russia-24\* ## News Anchor Horror A humanoid robot TV news anchor named Alex read the news yesterday on Russia-24, a state-owned television channel. The silicone-faced anchor presented some run-of-the-mill updates — and even touched on a lurid case in which local authorities were hunting down a mayoral candidate who allegedly kicked a homeless cat. The unsettling humanoid TV anchor was built by Russian startup Promobot. So far, the company has mostly produced screen-faced service robots for local banks. Alex's terrifying silicone face moves thanks to 29 motors, and is modeled to look like the company's founder Alexei Yuzhakov, [according to *The Telegraph*](). [You can be the judge]() whether it's a good likeness. ## Bad Robot In a similar — yet unrelated — example of Russian robotics on state TV, Russia-24 showed footage a humanoid robot called "Robot Boris" on stage at a youth forum about robotics in December 2018. The twist: it turned out to be a [man in a suit](). Alex is definitely a robot though. Or at least we hope he is. **READ MORE:** [Robot newscaster unsettles Russian state TV viewers]() \[*The Telegraph*\] **More on Russian robots:***[Russian TV Tried to Pass a Man in a Suit off as A High Tech Robot]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()