Australian Radio Station Secretly Broadcasts AI DJ

For about six months, Sydney radio station CADA aired an AI-generated host, presenting her as a regular person. This was reported by The Sydney Morning Herald.

The artificial intelligence, named Thy, goes on air at 11 a.m. on weekdays as part of the show Workdays with Thy, broadcasting four hours of hip-hop.

The show’s webpage does not mention the use of AI. It states that “while listeners are driving, on public transport, or at university, Thy will play the hottest tracks from around the world.”

The station used the AI platform ElevenLabs to generate Thy’s face and voice, based on an existing employee.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority stated that currently there are no specific restrictions on the use of artificial intelligence in broadcast content and no obligation to disclose its use.

Vice President of the Australian Voice Actors Association, Theresa Lim, emphasized that CADA’s nondisclosure of AI usage highlights the need for legislation on AI labeling.

This is not the first instance of neural networks being used in this manner. Two years ago, Disrupt Radio introduced AI news host Debbie Disrupt. However, the use of the technology was disclosed from the start.

In March, Deutsche Telekom announced an AI smartphone based on the Perplexity chatbot, which uses ElevenLabs technology for voice creation.