
Photo: Miljan Živković
Photo: Miljan Živković
Absolut Radio AI is Germany's first radio program that runs fully automatically around the clock using artificial intelligence. Mirko Drenger, head of the operator Antenne Deutschland, and Christian Brenner, founder of the software company Radio.cloud, explain in an interview how they achieved this and how AI is changing radio broadcasting.
Mr. Drenger and Mr. Brenner, Absolut Radio AI has been on air as the first fully automated AI program in Germany via a stream since 18 July 2023, and since 31 August 2023, it can also be received in the Braunschweig area via DAB+. Why did you decide to launch such an AI radio station?
Mirko Drenger: We have been working on the topic of AI for some time, initially focusing on marketing, planning, analysis, and post-production for videos. We were also already in close contact with Christian Brenner, who was developing AI in parallel with Radio.cloud. Together, we came up with the idea of having a station hosted by a cloned digitized voice. Christian suggested a solution to us, which we adopted and implemented.
Christian Brenner: After the launch of ChatGPT in the fall of 2022, it was clear to us that AI would change radio. As a technical service provider, we wanted to be involved with various functions, even if we didn't yet know what radio providers would want to do with them in the future. One extreme scenario was to use all the new functions to build a station that runs completely automatically. We planned to give ourselves two years for this, but it went much faster. By May 2023, it became clear that we would soon be able to implement such an AI radio station. We wanted to realize it with a customer who has a good reputation and can make decisions quickly. Antenne Deutschland met both of these requirements, making it a win-win situation.
How is Absolut Radio AI received by your listeners?
Drenger: We reach the target group through our marketing and the reach of the other Absolut stations. The station is performing very well, which is also reflected in the average listening time per active session, the most important KPI. It now averages 57 minutes and is trending upwards. In terms of content, we initially positioned ourselves to have kAI explain the topic to people who do not deal with AI on a daily basis and aim to break down fears of contact.
»kAI explains the topic to people who do not have to deal with AI everyday and wants to reduce fears of contact.«
Mirko Drenger
Photo: Antenne Deutschland
The voice of kAI still sounds rather artificial, however. He can neither engage in dialogue with listeners, nor react to current events or show changing emotions. Does this make him unsuitable for higher-level radio work?
Drenger: We have approached the topic of AI with caution in terms of content, but a lot is still possible in terms of technology. The most important question for us is: How can we ensure that AI doesn't make something up? To avoid this, we have developed topic and content guidelines, right down to individual words that he is not allowed to say. We also use a second large language model that monitors the other and checks whether the content fits the topic. Incidentally, it is not our intention to make kAI sound like a real person, even if its voice comes from a moderator and is further improved. kAI should remain AI.
Brenner: kAI could also technically react to current events, even much faster than a human. We could put a breaking news story on air within 10 seconds; no human could do it that quickly. But there is a reason why we don't do it. Currently, kAI is always in a good mood because that's the easiest way to make programs. But it's much more complex to develop an AI for different moods or one that can suddenly change its mood when a bad message comes in. In such cases, there is now a risk that kAI will find a way to put a positive spin on things. That's why AI is already sorting out all VIP messages that have to do with politics, politicians, or political parties. We don't want kAI to portray every player and every party as great.
»No matter what you think of AI, no broadcaster should ignore it, but rather experiment with it and learn what it can and cannot do.«
Christian Brenner
Photo: Radio.cloud
Your AI radio has now been running for several months without any editorial interference from staff. How did you manage that?
Brenner: A lot of technical preparation was necessary. We put the most effort into our prompts, some of which are very long and, depending on the break in the presentation, also contain under-prompts, for example for the hook presentation or the introduction to the weather. In the prompts, we ask exactly what we want and what we don't want. Thanks to a lot of experience, we were able to create a prompt construction kit with over 1000 parts, which we then put together depending on the setting. We have a good understanding of what ChatGPT 4.0 needs to get meaningful things out of it. Google Bart then does another cross-check. The aim is to stop complete errors and avoid the worst-case scenario.
Drenger: It's true that we haven't had to intervene for a long time because the level at which Absolut Radio AI is operating is safe. Nevertheless, we are constantly monitoring the station and have done our homework in this respect so that we can move on to other issues.
The Absolut Group and Radio.cloud have been partners for some time. To what extent has this helped you in setting up an AI station?
Drenger: We have been working with Radio.cloud for a long time on production and playout. Because we were already using the system, it was relatively easy for us to launch an AI station. Radio.cloud adapted the AI technology to the existing system. So we didn't have to set up anything else technologically and were able to get started straight away. That was a stroke of luck for us.
Brenner: We can integrate a complete broadcast clock into the AI via Radio.cloud. So everything is seamless and user-friendly. We see this as a major competitive advantage. In the USA, Futuri Media was a little faster with its AI system, but unlike us, the company does not have a playout. This means that Futuri Media's customers have to do everything by hand because they only receive files. There are currently three companies that build AI modules and say that they can be integrated into any playout system. In practice, however, this is very complicated, but not for us.
How much did you invest in setting up Absolut Radio AI?
Drenger: I can't give you an exact amount. But we didn't have that many initial technological investments because, as I said, we were already working with the Radio.cloud system. The editorial effort for prompting, content, and monitoring is on a scale that I wouldn't have had to discuss with my shareholders. The personnel costs are also limited. However, it's not as if nobody has to deal with Absolut Radio AI anymore. In addition to monitoring the content, there is other work to be done. For example, we are putting a lot of effort into developing a second voice.
You have replaced moderators who were already ill with kAI on other, non-KI-based programs of the Absolut Radio Group. Was he a worthy replacement?
Drenger: In mid-December 2023, we even had kAI do all the presenting on our station Absolut Hot for a week because the moderators were ill and the co-presenter was on vacation. Others were also absent due to illness, so almost nothing worked. kAI then hosted Absolut Hot but also mentioned in the program that he was not a real presenter, but an AI stepping in as a substitute. The listeners responded positively to this, and it was also an important cross-promotion for Absolut Radio AI. At this point, it also becomes economically interesting. We no longer had to pay an external service provider for the normal sickness cover; kAI did that.
Brenner: Substitution by kAI was also easy to implement because the technology is already available. All you have to do is connect another technology module.
What have the editors of the other Absolut stations learned from working with kAI so far?
Drenger: Anyone who listens to a presentation by kAI realizes that he can go much deeper than a real presenter. For example, when introducing a song: kAI announces the title and the artist and tells you what the song is about. The AI can do this on the fly, whereas a human presenter has to google it first. Nevertheless, nobody is afraid of losing their job, because the AI is no better at presenting than a human. We can also create more and better content thanks to AI. So everyone benefits enormously from AI and learns from it.
How will AI change radio broadcasting in the next few years?
Drenger: We always dance around the topic of personnel, and everyone tries to emphasize that it's not about saving employees. But that's not the case. In ten years' time, things won't be the same as they are today. I tell our people that very clearly. My current mantra is that AI won't make us redundant, but smarter.
Brenner: No matter what you think about AI, no broadcaster should ignore it, but rather experiment with it and learn what it can and cannot do. As a radio broadcaster, I hope that nobody thinks of replacing their morning presenter with an AI, even if it sounds good. But for stations that now have no presenters at night or on weekends, AI is a good compromise. The best thing in radio is a live show with humans; the second best thing is voice tracking; the third best thing is an AI; and the fourth best thing is to just have music playing. Doing a whole show with AI is the extreme case. As radio stations are all under cost pressure, including public broadcasters, some will certainly use AI to save costs.