A radio station in Poland has sparked headlines after firing its journalists and relaunching with AI-generated “presenters”. OFF Radio Krakow, based in the southern city of Krakow, recently introduced what it called “the first experiment in Poland” where virtual characters created by AI serve as journalists, CNN reported.
The station said its three AI avatars aim to engage younger audiences by discussing cultural, art, and social topics, including LGBTQ+ issues. In a statement, station head Marcin Pulit questioned whether AI is “an opportunity or a threat to media, radio, and journalism,” promising to explore the issue further.
The move drew widespread attention after former host Mateusz Demski, a journalist and film critic, published an open letter condemning the replacement of human employees with AI. Demski, who had been with the station since February 2022, argued that the decision sets a “dangerous precedent” that threatens jobs in the media and creative industries. His petition protesting the changes had garnered more than 15,000 signatures by Wednesday morning.
Despite the backlash, Pulit claimed the layoffs were due to low audience numbers, not AI. Krzysztof Gawkowski, Poland’s minister of digital affairs, also weighed in, calling for regulations on AI, stating that AI’s growth should benefit people, not harm them.
The controversy intensified when the station aired an AI-conducted “interview” with a voice mimicking Nobel Prize-winning Polish poet Wislawa Szymborska, who passed away in 2012. Michal Rusinek, president of the Wislawa Szymborska Foundation, approved the use of her name for the broadcast, noting that the poet had a sense of humour and likely would have appreciated the experiment.
