Robots on the Radio, Coming Soon to Airwaves Near You
Wednesday, August 17, 2011 at 11:29AM We’ve all experienced those annoying customer service robots when calling companies like AT&T or Verizon. Now, get ready to hear a similarly not-so-soothing robotic voice playing DJ on the radio.
Denise, an artificial intelligence program built by Guile 3D Studio, will hit the airwaves in San Antonio on Aug. 24. The droid was developed to act as a virtual assistant that can answer phone calls, check e-mail, make appointments and more. But now, KROV is putting “her” on the air. It’s just the latest example of robots having the potential to squeeze humans out of their jobs.
Dominique Garcia is the radio personality who bought Denise (for only $200!) and tweeked the AI to serve as a DJ. Not surprisingly, Garcia said that plenty of DJs are upset with him.
But Denise hasn’t completely taken over the job of a DJ. She still needs someone to write her script and line up the playlist. The robot can’t fill airspace on the fly—but she can tell a joke when asked, look up things on the Internet and even provide the weather forecast. (I can see it now: robot meteorologists.)
Of course, the draw for radio stations is the financial benefits of de-humanizing its DJs. Even now, a low-paying operator job would cover all the programming needs for Denise. And, eventually, the AI might be advanced enough to make that job obsolete as well.
That’s great for radio stations. But what about us listeners? I for one don’t want to hear Denise’s robotic voice when I’m sleepily struggling through my morning commute. And I doubt that today’s AI will even come close to a human DJ in personality, humor and relatability.
What are your thoughts? Will you be tempted to tune in to Denise’s first show on Aug. 24?
Robotics, Robots, artificial intelligence in Video 
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