First, it was Drew Carey, then it was AI Ashley, and now there’s a new artificial intelligence talent on the airwaves that could be the tech’s first step into non-English radio.
Radio Piekary, a broadcasting station located in Piekary Śląskie, southern Poland, has introduced an AI-generated presenter named “Basia” to its lineup. Basia hosted an hour-long midday slot, making it Poland’s first radio show presented by artificial intelligence.
Basia opened by saying in Polish, “You’re hearing correctly, this is not a joke. I’m simply here as an intelligent AI agent. Fascinating, isn’t it? What’s more, my debut coincides with World Brain Day – how ironic.”
Basia interacted with listeners, asking for their reactions to an AI host. Basia will continue to host this slot every Saturday, discussing questions presented by the editorial team and offering AI-prepared responses. The musical content, however, is still curated by a human team.
Radio Piekary’s Editor-in-Chief, Rafał Kurowski, reassured that the implementation of AI-hosted programming won’t affect the employment status of the station’s human staff. He described the show as an on-air experiment and some summer holiday fun, set to run until the first Saturday of September. The future of the format will be influenced by listener feedback.
For the listeners worried about the staff’s future, Radio Piekary Editor-in-Chief Rafał Kurowski said, “Even if artificial intelligence were to take up residence in our radio station for good, this will not affect our personnel policy. In other words: we will not be firing anyone to be replaced by artificial intelligence.”
With most of the AI in radio talk centered around English-language programming so far, this could be a first step into talent in other languages. With the continuing growth of Hispanic radio, AI could soon be an option and a reality in more stations in the States.
