
“Will AI take over radio?” is one of the industry’s most burning questions as companies eye cost-cutting measures and air talent worry about their futures. With ChatGPT and new AI vocalizers popping up and updating with increasing regularity, some fear if audiences can even tell the difference. Spoiler alert: they can, at least for now. And one celebrity found out the hard way.
During a recent episode of Drew Carey’s Friday Night Freak-Out on SiriusXM, fans noticed the Price Is Right/former-Whose Line? host sounded different. His delivery was choppy. He sounded robotic. His scripts were stilted. Some asked is this AI? And it was. Carey fessed up.
Carey used ElevenLabs’ AI vocal cloner for the show, which has been used to mimic celebrity voices and make them say whatever the operator wanted. His scripts were written by ChatGPT. Carey says it was all in the name of an experiment he put together over a weekend with a friend.
Out of this experiment, came a message to all broadcasters. In an interview with Engadget’s Devindra Hardawar, Carey said, “I violated a rule from Radio 101. The reason FM stations and treasured radio stations still make money is because people like the personality of the DJs.” He also says his fans had a message once he came clean: don’t do it again.