The United States is currently the most AI-anxious country in the world, and as artificial intelligence continues to make inroads into radio, public concern over transparency and usage is growing among audiences and industry professionals alike.
Internationally, those concerns have been spotlighted by a controversy out of Australia. Sydney’s CADA station recently admitted that “Thy,” a personality it had presented as a live human host, was entirely AI-generated using ElevenLabs technology. For more than six months, the station promoted “Thy” as a real on-air talent, despite the voice being based on an off-air employee’s likeness. The revelation sparked debate over media responsibility, authenticity, and informed consent.
To date, the only US radio group known to have deployed an AI voice on air was Alpha Media, whose Live 95.5 previously featured “AI Ashley.” That experiment ended ahead of Alpha’s acquisition by Connoisseur Media. It’s unknown whether Connoisseur plans to resume or expand the technology.
In the US, AI is being embraced more cautiously, particularly behind the scenes. But audiences expect honesty. According to Gallup via Collage, four in five Americans believe companies are responsible for minimizing AI-related harms. Lack of disclosure tops the list of public concerns.
A new joint study from Gallup and Bentley University found that 57% of Americans believe businesses should be more transparent about how they use AI. Another 34% want clarity on data sources and privacy protections, while 26% are interested in knowing how many jobs AI has created – or eliminated. The report also found that Americans closely associate AI with major risks, including misinformation, data misuse, and job displacement.
This fear has potentially fueled some misconceptions about AI use in radio, as highlighted last year by Futuri’s AI in Media Study. The survey found one in five listeners believe their favorite station already uses AI, whether or not it does, and 60% of participants misidentified AI-generated voices as human, which could explain how “Thy” went undetected by so many for so long.
American anxiety around AI, especially when it comes to employment, is unmatched globally. Search trends for terms like “AI job loss” and “AI taking over” currently top worldwide charts, according to ZeroBounce.
In radio, Jacobs Media’s AQ6 survey in 2024 found that 77% of on-air talent are concerned about losing jobs to AI. Yet nearly 30% of radio professionals, especially Millennials, say they use AI tools weekly. One in five say they would license their voice for AI applications if compensated.
As AI becomes more embedded in media, fear is shaping how audiences respond. For radio, the challenge ahead isn’t just about deploying new tools, but confronting the growing anxiety around automation, authenticity, and job security head-on.
