RadioGPT is a new A.I. radio host system from Futuri Media

Photo by Ben Koorengevel

(Source: Slate via NT)

Replacing Humans “Is the Furthest Thing From Our Mindset,” Says the Company Selling an A.I. Radio Host

RadioGPT can talk. It can research. It can take your calls. And it could be coming to your market.

The humble broadcast-radio host, whether a disc jockey or interviewer or reporter, has been going through it for decades now. The 1996 Telecommunications Act fueled the consolidation of local stations, decimating their staffs. The explosion of online radio, music and video streaming, and podcasting have upended ratings for shows on public airwaves. Phones and computers and smart speakers increasingly supplant radio sets. Funding for public radio is notoriously unreliable. It isn’t the best time for your modern-day Wolfman Jacks, or for any media profession.

On top of all that, your local DJ was already on the losing end of the artificial-intelligence revolution. Before the A.I. hype from last year, and even before the COVID recession demolished media ad markets, broadcast networks were gutting on-air talent at the both the national and collegiate level to trim budgets and automate programming: syndicating well-known shows and brands, prerecording and prearranging late-night broadcasts, training a roboticized voice to fill in the space when needed. Coupled with major streaming services’ dependence on algorithms and automation to curate playlists and make user recommendations—often with bizarre side effects—these developments make clear that the music industry anticipates the need for fewer humans down the line.

A.I. hasn’t yet finished killing the radio star, nor is it truly likely to anytime soon. But there’s a new digital buddy out there that might give hosts additional pause: RadioGPT, a new tool from the Ohio-based software company Futuri Media that fully digitizes the broadcast host as you know it. [Continue reading at Slate…]

Survey: What type of radio is your daily driver?

29 Replies

A little over a week ago, many of us participated in the 2023 Virtual Winter SWL Fest.

I enjoyed all of the presentations and the casual conversations many of us had in the hospitality lounge and various break-out rooms. Again, kudos to the Fest organizers and all of the volunteers who moderated the various rooms and forums–you all did an amazing job!

The one thing I always pick up when hanging with other radio enthusiasts is the type or class of radio they tend to operate the most.

Case in point: I noticed one friend is currently enamored with tube/valve radios–in past years he loved compact DSP portables. Another friend switched from using primarily a portable radio to a Drake R8 series tabletop radio. I noticed that many others have been bitten the SDR bullet since last year.

Daily drivers

For many of us, the type of radio we use daily changes over time.

For example, when I first started listening to shortwave in my youth my daily driver was a portable radio. When I got my ham license I found that I enjoyed using my general coverage transceiver connected to a multi-band doublet. Later, with the advent of Software Defined Radios, I became an avid SDR enthusiast.

At present, I’m back to using general coverage transceivers (specifically, the Icom IC-705).

Of course, I always have portables and vintage radios on the air, but they’re not my primary, or “daily driver,” these days.

Survey

I’m curious: what’s your daily driver?

I’ve created a short survey. If you’d like to participate, simply enter your answer in the form below, click the submit button and it will tally the results. Alternatively, you canclick on this link to open the survey form in a new tab/window. Of course, feel free to comment on this post as well! Thank you!

???Loading…

Saturday, March 12, 2023: The Great Medium Wave Daylight DX Challenge

28 Replies

[If you haven’t already, please check out this previous post about The Great Medium Wave Daylight DX Challenge.]

Here are the rules:

Frequency range is the medium wave band: 520-1710 kHz
10 am to 2 pm your local time today (Saturday, March 11, 2023). . . report the results in the comments to this post.
Any radio with any antenna, but must be the radio at your location (no using remote internet radios)
The listener must hear the signal in real time
The stations must be ID’ed by listening to the signal.
Your report should include:
- Your name (or Internet handle)
- Your receiver and antenna (stay with the same setup from beginning to end; if you use multiple setups, provide a separate report for each).
- Your location
- The time, the frequency, and the ID of each station heard
- The total mileage of your top five most distant stations.

A final point: this is not a contest; it is a challenge. The reward for every participant will be fun and fellowship.

Please record your results in the Comments Section to this post below.

UPDATE: Chuck Rippel did sweeten the pot, though! Check out his generous offer here.

Calling all magic carpet fitters and friends

Gentle reminder: The Great Medium Wave Daylight DX Challenge is tomorrow!

Here are the rules:

Frequency range is the medium wave band: 520-1710 kHz
10 am to 2 pm your local time on Saturday, March 11, 2023 .
Any radio with any antenna, but must be the radio at your location (no using remote internet radios)
The listener must hear the signal in real time
The stations must be ID’ed by listening to the signal.
Your report should include:
- Your name (or Internet handle)
- Your receiver and antenna (stay with the same setup from beginning to end; if you use multiple setups, provide a separate report for each).
- Your location
- The time, the frequency, and the ID of each station heard
- The total mileage of your top five most distant stations.

A final point: this is not a contest; it is a challenge. The reward for every participant will be fun and fellowship.

UPDATE: Chuck Rippel did sweeten the pot, though! Check out his generous offer here.

Paul’s recording of the Voice of Korea with a Tecsun PL-330

RNZ: “Signal to noise – is AM radio really under threat?”

10 Replies

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Connor Walsh, who shares the following piece from Radio New Zealand:

Signal to noise – is AM radio really under threat? (RNZ)

Old-fashioned AM radio was an information lifeline for many during Cyclone Gabrielle when other sources wilted without power. Now a little-known arrangement that puts proceedings of Parliament on the air has been cited as a threat to its future. But is a switch-off really likely? And what’s being done to avoid it?

“Government websites are a waste of time. All they’ve got is a transistor radio – and they need to actually provide a means for these people who need the information to damn well get it,” Today FM’s afternoon host Mark Richardson told listeners angrily on the day Cyclone Gabrielle struck.

He was venting in response to listeners without power complaining online information was inaccessible, and pleading for the radio station to relay emergency updates over the air.

Mobile phone and data services were knocked out in many areas where electricity supplies to towers were cut – or faded away after back-up batteries drained after 4-8 hours. In some places FM radio transmission was knocked out but nationwide AM transmission was still available.

“This will sharpen the minds of people on just how important . . . legacy platforms like AM transmission are in Civil Defence emergencies,” RNZ news chief Richard Sutherland told Mediawatch soon after. [Continue reading at RNZ…]