Source : the age
A Sydney radio station has been using an AI-generated host for about six months without disclosing it – and was not legally obliged to.
It was revealed last week that Australian Radio Network’s (ARN) Sydney-based CADA station, which broadcasts across western Sydney and is available online and through the iHeartRadio app, had crated and deployed an AI host for its Workdays with Thy slot.
The artificial host known as “Thy” is on-air at 11am each weekday to present four hours of hip-hop, but at no point during the show, nor anywhere on the ARN website, is the use of AI disclosed.
CADA used an AI-generated host and didn’t disclose it. They didn’t have to.
Instead, the show’s webpage simply says “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”.
ARN Media also owns KIIS FM, the home of The Kyle & Jackie O Show, and the GOLD network, home to high-rating Sydney breakfast show Jonesy & Amanda.
After initial questioning from Stephanie Coombes in The Carpet newsletter, it was revealed that the station used ElevenLabs – a generative AI audio platform that transforms text into speech – to create Thy, whose likeness and voice were cloned from a real employee in the ARN finance team.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority said there were currently no specific restrictions on the use of AI in broadcast content, and no obligation to disclose its use.
A screenshot of the Workdays with Thy page of the CADA website.
An ARN spokesperson said the company is exploring how new technology can enhance the listener experience.
“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.”
However, it has also “reinforced the power of real personalities in driving compelling content”, the spokesperson added.
The Australian Financial Review reported that Workdays with Thy has been broadcast on CADA since November, and was reported to have reached at least 72,000 people in last month’s ratings.
Vice president of the Australian Association of Voice Actors, Teresa Lim, said CADA’s failure to disclose its use of AI reinforces how necessary legislation around AI labelling has become.
“AI can be such a powerful and positive tool in broadcasting if there are correct safeguards in place,” she said. “Authenticity and truth are so important for broadcast media. The public deserves to know what the source is of what’s being broadcast … We need to have these discussions now before AI becomes so advanced that it’s too difficult to regulate.”
As an Asian woman working in Australian media, Lim said it also highlights how difficult it is for her demographic to break into broadcasting.
“When we found out she was just a cardboard cut-out, it cemented the disappointment. There are a limited number of Asian-Australian female presenters who are available for the job, so just give it to one of them. Don’t take that opportunity away from a minority group who’s already struggling.”
CADA isn’t the first radio station to use an AI-generated host. Two years ago, Australian digital radio company Disrupt Radio introduced its own AI newsreader, Debbie Disrupt. However, the fact that she wasn’t a real person was clearly disclosed from the beginning. And in 2023, an Oregon station in the US used an AI host, which was based on a real presenter.
An ACMA spokesperson said policies are still being developed in Australia to ensure safe and responsible use of AI. This is largely led by the Commonwealth Department of Industry, Science and Resources.
“This includes considering mandatory guardrails around transparency in high-risk settings, and the release of the Voluntary AI Safety Standard in September 2024.”
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