- An Australian radio station is under fire
- The radio station was exposed for using an AI host
- They Used an AI host for six months
The advancement of AI is getting scary, more so than any robot running a half-marathon. Now a radio station is under for using an AI host and they were only caught out after six months.
The radio station, based in Australia was exposed for using an AI host for a jaw-dropping four hours a day. Kudos for not using the female host for every single show though! Although people would definitely notice that.
Our host in question goes by the name of Thy and presented on the Australian Radio Network’s CADA station in a 11am-to 3pm show.
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Find out more about Thy here, and how listeners caught onto the AI scandal.
How did listeners find out about the AI host?
Thy hosted a weekday show called Workdays With Thy that was on from Monday to Friday. As a result, many listeners did not bat an eye to her radio broadcasts, until things got weird.
To create the AI bot, AI software by ElevenLabs was used to enable voice cloning to give Thy a distinct voice.
A writer posted the question that Thy wasn’t real
However, Thy did not say she was AI, which listeners later thought was deceitful. Nevertheless, the host continued undetected for six months. Until one writer questioned the host’s identity.
Stephanie Coombes, a writer from Sydney, posed the idea that the host may not be real. Coombes wrote in a blog post titled ‘Meet Thy – the radio host I don’t think exists’, “What is Thy’s last name? Who is she? Where did she come from? There is no biography, or further information about the woman who is supposedly presenting this show.”
Great investigating, Coombe!
Coombe continued her sleuthing, pointing out that other radio hosts on the same network have detailed bios and have a summary of their achievements and career history. Guess who doesn’t have that? Thy.
However, the biggest red flag when it came to Thy’s identity was that she had no social media presence. For someone on the radio, having a presence and ability to connect with an audience is essential. No social media is almost unheard of.
Later, audio analysis was done on clips of Thy talking, and a clip of the AI host saying “old school” was believed to be identical to an earlier show.
A project leader for the radio network confirmed the use of AI in a deleted-LinkedIn post, claiming it was an “experiment”.
Sure buddy…
“We’ve been trialling AI audio tools on CADA using the voice of Thy, an ARN team member,” a statement by the Australian Radio Network said.
Regardless of the use of AI, remember human personality cannot be replaced by it.
