by Ola Williams
A radio station in Poland has ignited controversy after dismissing its journalists and relaunching with AI-driven “presenters.”
OFF Radio Krakow, which had let go of its journalists weeks earlier, returned to the airwaves this week, claiming it was conducting “the first experiment in Poland where journalists… are virtual characters created by AI.”
The station now operates using three AI avatars aimed at attracting younger listeners by discussing cultural, artistic, and social issues, including LGBTQ+ concerns.
“Is artificial intelligence more of an opportunity or a threat to media, radio, and journalism? We will seek answers to this question,” said station head Marcin Pulit in a statement.
The move, however, has stirred nationwide attention, especially after former host Mateusz Demski, a journalist and film critic, published an open letter protesting the shift. “It is a dangerous precedent that hits us all,” Demski wrote, warning that it could pave the way “to a world where experienced professionals in media and creative industries are replaced by machines.”
Demski, who worked at the station from February 2022 until being dismissed in August alongside about a dozen other journalists, said the decision was particularly jarring given that OFF Radio Krakow is a taxpayer-funded public station.
He revealed that more than 15,000 people had signed a petition against the move, and hundreds had reached out to him, many of them young people opposed to such experiments.
Pulit, however, denied that AI was the reason for the layoffs, claiming the station’s listenership “was close to zero.”
Meanwhile, Krzysztof Gawkowski, the minister of digital affairs and deputy prime minister, weighed in on the matter, calling for regulation. “Although I am a fan of AI development, I believe that certain boundaries are being crossed more and more. The widespread use of AI must be done for people, not against them!” he posted on X.
In an unusual twist, the station aired an “interview” conducted by an AI presenter with a voice imitating Nobel Prize-winning poet Wisława Szymborska, who passed away in 2012.
Michał Rusinek, president of the Wisława Szymborska Foundation, said he approved the station’s use of the poet’s name, noting that Szymborska, known for her sense of humor, might have appreciated the experiment.
