A Polish radio station has stirred controversy after relaunching with presenters generated by artificial intelligence. Critics argue the move threatens to replace creative human workers with machines, but the station’s manager defended the decision, saying the jobs would have been lost anyway – so why not give AI a go.
OFF Radio Krakow introduced what it calls “the first experiment in Poland” where journalists are represented by AI-created virtual characters.
The programmes are hosted by three avatars – Jakub, Emilia and Alex – each with their own personality and interests. They’re aimed at engaging younger Gen Z listeners with topics like culture, art and LGBTQ+ issues. Even the music playlists are generated by AI.
“Is artificial intelligence more of an opportunity or a threat to media, radio and journalism? We will seek answers to this question,” station head Marcin Pulit said in a statement.
However there's been backlash on social media after Mateusz Demski, a journalist and former host on the station, published an open letter on Tuesday protesting “the replacement of employees with artificial intelligence".
“It is a dangerous precedent that hits us all,” Demski wrote, warning that it could lead to a future where experienced media professionals and creatives are replaced by machines.
More than 15,000 people had signed his petition by Wednesday morning, Demski told The Associated Press.
Listenership 'close to zero'
Demski, who worked at OFF Radio Krakow from February 2022 to August this year, was one of about a dozen journalists laid off from the station, which is state-owned. He called the job cuts shocking.
But Pulit defended the layoffs, saying: “No employee or co-worker of OFF Radio Kraków has been fired due to the use of AI tools,” adding that the station’s audience was “close to zero”.
Pulit explained that since the station began in 2015, it had mainly been an automated music station with just two hours of live programming and a few original music shows each week.
The layoffs, he said, were not due to AI but because collaboration contracts with external contributors ended in August.
Uncertain future for 'broken' news industry hobbled by distrust and AI fears
Krzysztof Gawkowski, Poland’s minister of digital affairs, joined the debate on Tuesday, saying on X that while he supports AI development, boundaries are increasingly being crossed.
“The widespread use of AI must be done for people, not against them!” he wrote, calling for regulation.
On the same day, the station aired an “interview” between an AI-generated presenter and a voice pretending to be Wisława Szymborska, the late Polish Nobel Prize-winning poet.
Michał Rusinek, president of the Wisława Szymborska Foundation, told TVN that he had allowed the station to use Szymborska’s name.
He said the poet, who died in 2012, had a sense of humour and would have liked it.
(with AP)
