Polish radio station sparks controversy by replacing journalists with AI hosts

A radio station in Poland has sparked nationwide debate by laying off its journalists and resuming broadcasts with AI-generated hosts.

Krakow-based OFF Radio announced earlier this week that it had relaunched as "the first experiment in Poland where journalists are produced as virtual characters by artificial intelligence." The station noted that three AI avatars are aimed at engaging younger listeners, discussing cultural, artistic, and social issues.

Station manager Marcin Pulit stated, "Is AI media a chance or a threat for radio and journalism? We will seek answers to this question."

However, the change made headlines when journalist and film critic Mateusz Demski, a former host at the station, published an open letter on Tuesday opposing the replacement of staff with AI.

Demski called this a "dangerous precedent," arguing it could lead to a world where experienced media professionals and creative industry workers are replaced by machines. By Wednesday morning, over 15,000 people had signed in support, with hundreds, especially young people, expressing a desire not to be part of the experiment.

Demski, who had worked at OFF Radio Krakow since February 2022, reminded that the station is supported by taxpayers as a public broadcaster.

Pulit contended that journalists were not fired due to AI, but rather because the audience had nearly disappeared, prompting the decision.

Digital Affairs Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski also stated he had read Demski's letter and called for legal regulations regarding the use of AI. Gawkowski said, "While I support the development of AI, I believe that some boundaries are increasingly being crossed. The widespread use of AI should be for people, not against them!"

On Tuesday, the station also aired a segment in which an AI-generated host conducted an "interview" in the voice of Nobel Prize-winning Polish poet Wisława Szymborska, who passed away in 2012.