In his first column for Inside Radio, Futuri CEO Daniel Anstandig explains why AI should be embraced, not feared by radio broadcasters.
When it comes to your company and the ways in which it can be successful using artificial intelligence, humans are unquestionably the most important part of the equation.
This might sound like a confusing statement from a tech executive who’s spent 2023 traveling the world advocating for broadcast media companies to meaningfully adopt AI as part of their operating strategies if they want to survive.
Ever since our company launched Futuri AudioAI™ (formerly RadioGPT) in February, we’ve talked with thousands of broadcast professionals who are intrigued by the possibilities of using AI to modernize their operations and help them do more with less — resources that were cut long before AI came into the picture.
Some broadcast pros laser-focus on the threats they think the voice capabilities of AI pose for their relationships with their audiences and team members. Or they raise understandable concerns about potential copyright issues with AI-generated content (our take: use AI as a first draft for content for social posts, articles, and on-air copy, then add your human touch).
Occasionally, these things cause them to entirely dismiss the notion of meaningfully adopting AI. Here’s what they miss: Incorporating AI into your operations is not about choosing either AI or humans. As I’ve said many times: People won’t be replaced by AI. People will be replaced by other people using AI.
Think of AI as a valuable partner in content creation, audience recruitment, and compelling marketing. The social and emotional intelligence of humans, combined with the analytical literacy of AI, creates a powerful synergy.
There are two key points that everyone should consider when figuring out how best to incorporate AI into your operations:
The creative thinkers on your team are indispensable. And don’t just take my word for it. Earlier this year, the World Economic Forum released its Future of Jobs Report. As you might expect, it’s 296 pages of insights on the global labor landscape and its outlook, and the term “artificial intelligence” appears dozens of times.
What really stood out to me is its list of skills on the rise — the human skills judged to be increasing in importance most rapidly between now and 2027. At the top of the list is something most of your stations aren’t short on: Creative thinking.
1. Creative thinking
2. Analytical thinking
3. Technological literacy
4. Curiosity and lifelong learning
5. Resilience, flexibility, and agility
The takeaway: some of our most human qualities will be increasingly important in an era dominated by AI.
Our ability to learn continuously in new situations makes us indispensable. That’s reflected in this list: our ability to think creatively and be flexible will be increasingly important as time goes on. Use AI to generate first drafts of content that your humans can improve on. It’s not all or nothing.
Canning your high-performing morning show in favor of AI voices would be nuts. Helping them spend less time on busywork using AI voices would be wise.
It’s a sad fact that, per Futuri’s research, less than 30% of radio stations in North America have more than one physically live and local daypart. Using AI to deliver current local information in those unmanned dayparts can help stations regain their competitive advantage against DSPs and the other options your audience has for news and entertainment.
For the dayparts where you have human talent that prep their shows thoroughly, truly connect with listeners, and play nice with advertisers… Those humans are gold and should be protected at all costs. But is the best use of their time really doing endless tags for spots — or, for syndicated shows, trying to cram in timely local cut-ins for every single affiliate?
When you use AI strategically to reduce busy work, you free up time for the creative brain to create. That’s why many of us got into this business. And it’s that creativity that will keep radio relevant for decades to come.
Daniel Anstandig is Founder and CEO of Futuri, whose AI-driven technology solutions are used by thousands of broadcasters worldwide to grow their content, audience, and revenue. He holds 20 published or pending patents in 151 countries worldwide. Reach him at linkedin.com/in/anstandig/.