An Australian radio station has admitted to using an AI-generated host for months without explicitly telling its audience. The station, CADA, faced backlash after it revealed the voice behind its midday show was not a real person.
“Workdays with Thy” is a daily, four-hour show aired by the Australian Radio Network (ARN). It launched in November 2024 and features a mix of hip-hop, R&B and pop music. According to CADA, the show was “curated by our music experts” to highlight songs that were trending or about to break out.
A journalist uncovers the secret
The secret surrounding the Australian radio AI host started unraveling when local journalist Stephanie Coombes received a tip.
In her article, Coombes questioned details about Thy, asking, “What is Thy’s last name? Who is she? Where did she come from?”
She noted that the name did not have a biography or social media profile attached, which stood out compared to other CADA hosts who had multi-paragraph bios.
Coombes also observed that during “Workdays with Thy,” listeners would only hear a short voiceover at the top of the hour. She pointed out the repeated patterns in intonation, suggesting it was AI-generated.
A reporter from the Australian Financial Review eventually confirmed that Thy was an AI entity and part of a trial using a service that provides an artificially generated voice to announce the songs. The picture, AFR reports, is that of a station employee who works in the company’s finance division.
Backlash over lack of transparency
It was not disclosed anywhere that Thy was an AI host.
Teresa Lim, an Australian presenter and voice actor, criticized the lack of disclosure in a LinkedIn post.
“As an Asian-Australian female HUMAN voice actor and presenter in the radio and advertising industry, I find this industry-first move offensive on various levels,” she wrote.
Lim added, “Why weren’t listeners told upfront you were trialing an AI host? Why isn’t there any disclosure published on your program page, or announced before, during or after the show?” She argued that Australian audiences deserved honesty and full transparency, rather than unknowingly trusting a fake radio persona.
AI regulations still catching up
Australia’s media sector is regulated by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA). However, there are currently no specific laws that require broadcasters to disclose AI-generated content.
In October 2024, the ACMA released a letter highlighting the need for AI guardrails. It raised concerns about scams, deceptive practices, misinformation, harmful content, and the loss of personal data control.
In December, the Australian government introduced a bill to grant ACMA enhanced powers to tackle misinformation. That bill includes oversight for content generated by AI.
Despite the controversy, ARN chief executive Ciaran Davis told the Financial Review that “Workdays with Thy” would continue to broadcast on CADA.
Davis framed the Australian radio AI host experiment as part of an evolving media landscape, but questions about transparency and ethics remain.
