Polish broadcaster shuts down AI-run radio station after a week following backlash

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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and is published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.

A Polish radio station that launched a channel run almost entirely by artificial intelligence – including having AI presenters – has decided to end the “experiment” after less than a week on the air following a backlash against the idea.

Radio Kraków – a public broadcaster in Poland’s second largest city – still claimed that the project had been a “success”, despite it initially being scheduled to last for three months.

The station’s editor-in-chief, Marcin Pulit, did, however, admit that they “were surprised by the level of emotion that accompanied this experiment, the imputation of non-existent intentions and actions to us, the harsh judgements formed on the basis of false reports”.

Radio Kraków re-launched its channel, called OFF, on Tuesday last week in a new format that it said was Poland’s “first radio station created almost entirely by artificial intelligence”.

The station’s programmes were presented by three AI characters, each of which had a specific personality, set of interests and even AI-generated images of how they look. They were intended to be “model representatives of Generation Z” and appeal to younger audiences.

Shortly after its launch, OFF aired an imagined, AI-generated interview with Wisława Szymborska, a Polish Nobel Prize-winning poet who died in 2012. The programme had been authorised by the Wisława Szymborska Foundation.

Last week, Pulit revealed that the station was next planning to air a similar “interview” with Polish historical hero Józef Piłsudski on 11 November, which marks Poland’s Independence Day.

However, in a statement published this morning, Pulit announced that Radio Kraków had now decided to bring an end to its AI-led channel. That decision followed a widespread backlash against the project, including from former staff at OFF, who said they had been fired to make way for the AI plans.

Pulit admitted that the station had been “surprised by the level of emotion that accompanied this experiment”.

“From the beginning, this project was conceived as a voice in the debate on the opportunities and threats posed by the development of artificial intelligence,” he explained. “This was the goal of the radio experiment…and it has succeeded.”

“After just one week, we had gathered so many observations, opinions and conclusions that we felt there was no point in continuing…Our experiment showed how many issues require regulation, and our experiences can be used during work on the law.”

In response to criticism of the project, Pulit noted that the station had always been “transparent, clearly marking content generated using artificial intelligence tools and clearly communicating that we did not intend to replace people with machines”.

“Despite this, we experienced how post-truth mechanisms work, how facts lose their importance in comparison with a story that appeals to the emotions of recipients and their personal beliefs,” he continued.

One of those who had criticised the AI experiment, Rafał Komarewicz, an MP from Poland 2050 (Polska 2050), which is part of the ruling coalition, welcomed Pulit’s announcement but said that he would not let the issue rest there.

“I am now waiting for a response of the culture ministry as to whether what Radio Kraków did is an element of a broader strategy for public sector radio stations or just an incidental idea,” tweeted Komarewicz.

“In one respect I agree with the conclusions of the Radio Kraków authorities: their actions showed how many issues related to the use of AI in the media space require appropriate regulations.”

Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.

Main image credit: Radio Kraków