The advancement of technology is something that is continuous and only progresses throughout time. The progression has now gotten to a place where it is replacing the jobs of human beings and saving companies money. Radio stations have figured out a way to use this to their advantage and have cut budgets by thousands of dollars.
In January of 2020, iHeartMedia laid off hundreds of DJs to replace them with artificial intelligence. According to The Washington Post, in a company email, chief executive Bob Pittman said the “employee dislocation” was “the unfortunate price we pay to modernize the company.” Many employees believe that it was more than just trying to modernize the company. They believed that companies were cutting corners to spend less money on actual human beings.
In 2011, radio personality Dominique Garcia in San Antonio purchased Denise for $200 and programmed the AI (Artificial Intelligence) to serve as a DJ. Denise was built by Guile 3D Studio to serve as a virtual assistant to conduct Web searches, make appointments, answer phone calls, send emails, and more. Denise required a human assistant to write the script for talk breaks and to input the voice track into the playlist. Garcia told NBC News “If you have a staff of five that is paid $100,000 a year each, that’s half-a-million dollars. The entire (AI) program is $200, a one-time fee.
With artificial technology taking over the industry and companies keeping their budgets low, radio jobs are currently down 26% since 2008, making it more difficult for individuals that want to touch communities through radio. Most DJs have found their place in the social media world. Many have started their own podcasts/radio stations through outlets of their choice, whether it’s YouTube, Spotify, or Apple, DJs are continuing to adjust to the times.
AI systems are currently not at the point where they can replace humans in all totality. Humans still have to program, train and repair them to operate correctly. Although they still rely heavily on people, it does not make up for the number of jobs that were lost and the tradition of radio. Technology changes everything in time but listeners have made it known that artificial intelligence does not have the same impact that a live radio DJ has. DJs use to host events, have contests live on air, shout-outs, and more. The human-to-human interaction is what is slowly leaving the industry.