Thy has been on the radio for six months. Turns out she isn’t real
A Sydney radio station has been using an AI-generated host for about six months without disclosing it – and was not legally obliged to.
It was revealed last week that Australian Radio Network’s (ARN) Sydney-based CADA station, which broadcasts across western Sydney and is available online and through the iHeartRadio app, had created and deployed an AI host for its Workdays with Thy slot.
The artificial host known as “Thy” is on-air at 11am each weekday to present four hours of hip-hop, but at no point during the show, nor anywhere on the ARN website, is the use of AI disclosed.
Instead, the show’s webpage simply says “while you are at work, driving around, doing the commute on public transport or at uni, Thy will be playing you the hottest tracks from around the world”.
After initial questioning from Stephanie Coombes in The Carpet newsletter, it was revealed that the station used ElevenLabs – a generative AI audio platform that transforms text into speech – to create Thy, whose likeness and voice were cloned from a real employee in the ARN finance team.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority said there were currently no specific restrictions on the use of AI in broadcast content, and no obligation to disclose its use.
An ARN spokesperson said the company was exploring how new technology could enhance the listener experience.
“We’ve been trialling AI audio tools on CADA, using the voice of Thy, an ARN team member. This is a space being explored by broadcasters globally, and the trial has offered valuable insights.”
The Australian Financial Review reported that Workdays with Thy has been broadcast on CADA since November, and was reported to have reached at least 72,000 people in last month’s ratings.
Vice president of the Australian Association of Voice Actors, Teresa Lim, said CADA’s failure to disclose its use of AI reinforces how necessary legislation around AI labelling has become.
As an Asian woman working in Australian media, Lim said it also highlights how difficult it is for her demographic to break into broadcasting.
“When we found out she was just a cardboard cut-out, it cemented the disappointment. There are a limited number of Asian-Australian female presenters who are available for the job, so just give it to one of them. Don’t take that opportunity away from a minority group who’s already struggling.”
