U.S. radio station Live 95.5, based in Portland, Oregon, has introduced an artificial intelligence (AI) to partially take over the role of midday host Ashley Elzinga. The AI version, known as “AI Ashley,” will take over the daily 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. slot. Media group Alpha Media, which operates the radio station, calls this a “hybrid situation.”
The technology behind AI Ashley
AI Ashley was developed using Futuri’s RadioGPT software. The AI has been trained to sound like Elzinga, but is still recognizably an artificial voice. It also introduces itself as AI Ashley. The software uses GPT-3 to detect and relay local trending topics. However, these topics are reviewed and edited by humans before being broadcast.
We made history as the world's first radio station with an AI DJ! Our midday host Ashley has become AI Ashley! We can’t wait for you to meet Ashley, the world's first artificially intelligent DJ. As to the intelligence of our other DJ’s…we’ll save that for another post 😉 pic.twitter.com/CtlMhYU0IO
— Live 95.5 (@live955) June 13, 2023
Reactions to AI presenter launch
Reactions to AI Ashley’s announcement were mixed. Some Twitter users expressed skepticism and criticism of the move, which they saw as “disrespectful” to the profession of radio hosting. However, Alpha Media stressed that it was a “hybrid situation” involving both the AI version and the human host. While AI Ashley is on the air, the human moderator can do other tasks, such as managing social media posts or working on digital assets.
Impact on the radio industry
The introduction of AI Ashley could have far-reaching implications for the radio industry. While AI technology is already being used in many areas, this is the first time a radio station has used an AI presenter. It remains to be seen how this development will affect the role of human presenters and the radio industry as a whole.
