I’d like to hear what you think about artificial intelligence and the long-term role it will play in radio.
The frenzy of media attention that accompanied the launch of ChatGPT 10 months ago has cooled now, but as far as I’m concerned, AI is serious and here for the long haul. (Don’t be that person who interpreted the dot-com crash of 2000 as proof that the internet had been overhyped.)
We’ve all been using AI for years, of course, in applications like e-commerce, social media and search. What I’m asking about is the exploding generation of technologies based around generative AI. We see them being used to write and voice shows, playlists, commercials, newscasts, weather forecasts and social video; and that’s just in the on-air product, it doesn’t touch on the many functions it is starting to play behind the scenes. So what’s your prognostication?
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Some people are terrified of it, believing it can only lead to replacing humans and taking jobs. Advocates say that it’s a tool intended to make us all more efficient. “Think of it as a wingman,” they say, “a co-host, a useful researcher, an assistant.” They encourage us to dive in and learn, because it’s here regardless and it’s only going to get better and more powerful.
Send me your thoughts to [email protected], with “Letter to the Editor” in the subject line. It comes right to me.
I’ll moderate a session about AI for radio at the upcoming Broadcasters Clinic in Madison, Wis. Join us if you can.
The panelists will include Craig Bowman of Futuri, maker of RadioGPT; Tommy BoDean of the University of Florida in Gainesville, where AI is on the air at a student-run FM top 40 station; consultant Fred Jacobs of Jacobs Media; and David Oxenford of Wilkinson, Barker, Knauer. The event is produced by the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association and is in its 67th year. If you’ve gone, you know it’s one of the best state or regional conferences in the country. Info is at www.wi-broadcasters.org.
[Related: “Absolut Radio Gets a Head Start With AI“]
