ARN takes audience temperature on AI voices in radio
Thy was on air for 20 hours a week - but she isn't real.
ARN has sent a survey to listeners designed to gauge their level of comfort with AI radio presenters.
The survey — flagged in The Australian — was sent out to listeners of 91.1 Hot FM on the Sunshine Coast on Friday, and included a section subtitled ‘Thinking about AI-powered voices replacing human voices in radio’.
The audio network’s interest in AI is particularly relevant given it used an entirely AI-generated host “Thy” on Sydney-based CADA station for six months, without disclosure.
In the survey, listeners were asked whether they agreed or disagreed with a number of statements, including ‘If I cannot tell that a radio voice hosting a show is artificial (ie. sounds like a robot) then I do not care’, ‘I would miss a human voice if it were replaced by an artificial voice’, and ‘I feel betrayed if an artificial voice is hosting a radio show, and I have not been told.’
The survey also contains a number of statements that test whether listeners “have no problems” with an AI voice presenting sport updates, traffic updates, weather updates, or news updates.
The survey: from ARN, via The Australian
CADA’s “Workdays with Thy” was broadcast each weekday from 11am. The voice and likeness of the host of the four-hour hip hop show was based on a real ARN employee who worked in the network’s finance division.
The use of this technology was not mentioned on air, nor in the station’s promotional material, which simply noted, “while you are at work, driving around, doing the commute on public transport or at uni, Thy will be playing you the hottest tracks from around the world”.
After the AI host was revealed, ARN released a statement that admitted, “we’ve been trialling AI audio tools on CADA, using the voice of Thy, an ARN team member. This is a space being explored by broadcasters globally, and the trial has offered valuable insights.”
The ARN spokesperson did note the trial has “also reinforced the unique value that personalities bring to creating truly compelling content.”
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