Artificial intelligence is becoming a regular part of everyday life, and different industries are using it to streamline their processes and render themselves more efficient. Evolutions in AI technology usually accompany the threat to eradicate human jobs, and the radio industry is no exception. Portland rock radio station KBFF Live 95.5 recently unveiled Futuri Media’s RadioGPT for its midday show, replacing its host Ashley Elzinga.
The AI version of Ashley will take the airwaves during the midday slot (10 a.m. to 3 p.m. PST) instead of having Elzinga voice track segments between songs, as has become common practice in music radio. Elzinga herself is a nationally syndicated radio host and program director of WKHQ-FM in Charlevoix, MI. She can also be heard at nights on KQMV-FM in Seattle. The Portland rock radio station is owned by Alpha Media, which released a statement on the groundbreaking innovation in the world of radio.
“To put it simply, I am ecstatic to be one of the trailblazers at Alpha Media helping to build an innovative and unique listening experience for our audience,” Live 95.5 content director Dylan Salisbury said in a statement. “We have been working hard to ensure that ‘AI Ashley’ is just as live, local, engaging and entertaining as the traditional version, and I can’t wait for our fans to hear both versions of Ashley in action.”
Music formats have endured a paradigm shift less predicated on personalities and more focused on cost-efficient methods to disseminate content, especially with the rise of streaming services. Its future is arguably in great peril, and while the technology is unnerving to some, it is not what disappointed Fred Toucher and Rich Shertenlieb on Wednesday morning.
Elzinga’s enthusiasm for the product perturbed the morning show on 98.5 The Sports Hub, as she professedly vouched for the move and effectively sold her voice. Doing such a thing is daunting because of the possibilities it provides producers, including those with malicious intent.
“It’s radio’s own fault. It really is,” Shertenlieb said. “The fact that a lot of music stations have just phoned in these DJs – this is what you get. If you don’t spend money on having people that actually care about their audience; that can connect with them, can tell a story [and] can give you any reason to listen to them other than, ‘Here’s the next Red Hot Chili Peppers song,’ then you get what you deserve.”
Following the announcement of the project, Elzinga posted a video on social media reacting to how her voice sounded as engineered by artificial intelligence. She seemed enthusiastic about the ordeal, and embraced her unique position as a pioneer in the space, even affirming so in a statement.
“I am honored to be at the forefront of this evolved version of radio broadcasting,” Elzinga said. “As the world’s first AI DJ, I will fully embrace the power of synthetic voice software and artificial intelligence. In doing so, I can ensure that my audience has a compelling listening experience.”
Toucher expressed contempt towards the medium slowly losing its personal touch, an essential part of the appeal of the sports talk radio format. When he was going through a divorce, Toucher moved into his own home and shared that he found himself listening to the radio when folding laundry. Instead of eliminating music radio hosts entirely, Toucher proposed a new idea to salvage the format and retain its innate congeniality.
“You don’t even have to have well-established jocks,” Toucher said. “If you wanted to save money, then have it be a breeding ground for kids. Have young people that want to get into radio, try to give them a break [and] teach them how to do it.”
There are certainly considerable strides still to be made related to artificial intelligence, but the technology has seemingly reached a point where it has become an existential threat to those in certain professions. Radio hosts, voiceover artists and freelance production workers are all in danger of losing work, as are writers for movies and television programs.
“It’s unfortunately what a lot of the music stations have stepped into,” Shertenlieb said. “It’s not even the stations. It’s a lot of the people who own these stations…They’ve been soulless for this long [that] you might as well just literally not have a soul.”
