As Jacobs Media’s Director of Digital Revenue and AI, I’ll be popping up in this newsletter often. My mission is to demystify AI for you. I want to show you how it can supercharge what broadcasters do and guide you towards savvy choices with this emerging, yet potent tech. Let’s get to it!
The world of AI is moving quickly, and the rate of innovation is accelerating. Over the last few weeks, there have been big announcements from the major AI platforms, including OpenAI (funded by Microsoft), Gemini (a division of Google), Anthropic/Claude (funded by Amazon), and Llama (a division of Meta). The weekly revelations and innovations presented by these billion-dollar-behemoths consistently range from impressive to jaw-dropping, and they are slated to revolutionize work and play over the next ten years as much as the internet did in the previous three decades.
But (and there’s always a “but”) even though AI may be powering things behind the scenes, research is showing that the general public has reservations about the technology and is apprehensive about its impact on everything from November’s national election to employment on Main Street. Additionally, there is general distaste for AI-personalities on-air and online.
You may have seen the results of the Jacobs Media Techsurvey 2024 about the audience’s opinions on AI. (You can download the summary at jacobsmedia.com.) In this study of 30,000 radio listeners in Q1, 53 percent feel that artificial intelligence will lead to a somewhat or very negative impact on their world, 74 percent feel that AI needs strong government safeguards, and 74 percent say they would have major concerns about AI replacing on-air talent.
The opinions on AI-generated talent are supported by recent moves by Instagram and TikTok about using virtual influencers to endorse products. Instagram’s new program only uses AI to support and customize human-influencers, not replace the humans. TikTok admitted that its AI avatars created fewer e-commerce sales than humans. The human touch is superior for engagement on both platforms.
Research and anecdotes may inform why there aren’t widespread AIs on-air and online to present stations’ content, but it doesn’t give a pass to broadcasters on integrating AI tools into its employees’ daily workflow. AI can empower employees to create more robust content and to easily customize content for specific media that deepens audience engagement if used correctly, and that’s where station policy comes into play.
To be sure, every broadcaster should have an AI leader AND an AI policy. The policy should not only include what employees can’t do, but it needs to include training programs that set expectations for how employees use AI. For example, use AI to generate copy, don’t use it to fact check (at least in 2024). The AI policy should also include a training program that allows employees to experiment with AI tools, to learn what tools work best for their specific jobs, and to prepare staff for the oncoming deluge of AI tools – and compete against other digital companies who have AI fully integrated into their workplaces. The content of the AI policy and training programs will change as AI evolves, but at this point the future impact of AI on broadcasters can not be understated. The time to prepare is now.
The WBA Digital Hotline is a free service of the WBA. To contact Chris Brunt directly with any questions relating to digital revenue, AI, and anything else in the digital space, he can be reached at Chris@jacobsmedia.com
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