In a move that drew both curiosity and condemnation, a Polish radio station replaced its human presenters with AI-generated hosts, only to reverse course after a firestorm of criticism. The experiment, launched by Off Radio Krakow, a state-funded station, initially boosted its audience from near zero to 8,000 listeners, but the ensuing controversy has sparked a nationwide conversation about the ethics of AI in media and the threat of job displacement.
The station's editor-in-chief, Mariusz Marcin Pulit, who made the decision to replace the hosts, has been accused of "sacrificing humans on the altar of technology," a phrase reported by The New York Times. Pulit, however, insists that replacing human workers was never his intention, despite the fact that he fired the presenters and replaced them with AI avatars. "I have been turned into a job-killing monster who wants to replace real people with avatars," he told the NYT, expressing ambivalence about the backlash.
The controversy was ignited when Radio Krakow announced a "unique interview" with the late Polish Nobel laureate Wislawa Szymborska, who died in 2012. The station initially framed it as a real conversation, but it was later revealed that both the interviewer and the interviewee were AI-generated. Lukasz Zaleski, one of the fired hosts, expressed anger at the deception: "I was very angry that real, deep talks and real interviews with real people were replaced with something totally fake."
AI Personalities Draw Criticism from All Sides
The fabricated personalities of the AI hosts also became a flashpoint. One host, named Alex Szulc, was described as a nonbinary progressive "full of social commitment," but references to their gender were removed following backlash from LGBTQ activists, who felt the representation was inauthentic. The station managed to alienate both proponents and critics of AI, including Poland's minister of digitalization, Krzysztof Gawkowski, who tweeted, "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!"
Pulit also faced criticism from right-wing members of the National Radio and Television Council, who accused him of "eliminating the human factor." The pressure became so intense that Pulit decided to cancel the AI-hosted show, but he framed the decision as a pioneering effort: "We are pioneers, and the fate of pioneers can be difficult," he said in his announcement to staff.
The incident underscores the challenges media organizations face as they experiment with AI, balancing innovation with public trust and the livelihoods of human workers. While the short-term audience spike was notable, the long-term consequences—both for the station's reputation and for the broader conversation about AI's role in journalism—remain uncertain.
