Journalists replaced at radio station in Poland with AI presenters

WARSAW, Poland: A Polish radio station has sparked controversy by replacing its journalists with AI-generated presenters.

OFF Radio Krakow, based in the southern city of Krakow, recently relaunched after dismissing its journalists and introducing virtual characters created by artificial intelligence to present shows on cultural, art, and social issues, including LGBTQ+ concerns.

The station claims this is the first experiment of its kind in Poland aimed at engaging younger listeners.

"Is artificial intelligence more of an opportunity or a threat to media, radio, and journalism? We will seek answers to this question," the station head, Marcin Pulit, wrote in a statement.

However, this decision has faced significant backlash.

Former host Mateusz Demski, a journalist and film critic, published an open letter protesting the replacement of human employees with AI. He called it a "dangerous precedent" that could lead to the displacement of experienced media professionals by machines. His protest gained widespread support, with more than 15,000 people signing a petition by the following morning.

Demski, who had worked at the station since February 2022, was one of about a dozen journalists let go in August. He emphasized that the station is publicly funded, which made the decision especially surprising. Pulit defended the move, saying journalists weren't fired because of AI but due to low listenership.

The controversy caught the attention of Krzysztof Gawkowski, Poland's minister of digital affairs, who voiced concerns about the unchecked use of AI.

"Although I am a fan of AI development, I believe that certain boundaries are being crossed more and more," he wrote on X. "The widespread use of AI must be done for people, not against them!"

In a recent broadcast, one of the AI presenters conducted an "interview" with a simulated voice of Wisawa Szymborska, a Polish Nobel laureate poet who died in 2012.

Micha Rusinek, president of the Wisawa Szymborska Foundation, approved the broadcast, noting that Szymborska, known for her sense of humor, might have appreciated the experiment.