For months, listeners tuning into CADA’s popular Workdays with Thy have been grooving to a four-hour mix of hip hop, R&B, and pop, unaware that the charismatic host, Thy, is not a real person but an AI-generated voice. The revelation, first reported by The Australian Financial Review and The Sydney Morning Herald, has ignited a debate about transparency in media and the growing role of artificial intelligence in entertainment. It also raises the question of how long it will be until many radio stations are repalcing humans with AIs.
CADA, owned by ARN Media, confirmed that Thy’s voice and likeness are modeled after an employee in the company’s financial department, with the voice created using ElevenLabs’ AI voice generator, as reported by The Carpet newsletter. The station’s Workdays with Thy webpage offers no hint that Thy is AI-generated, describing the show as “curated by our music experts” and boasting that listeners can “hear it first with Thy” to stay ahead of music trends. This omission has drawn sharp criticism from industry professionals and listeners alike.
Teresa Lim, vice president of the Australian Association of Voice Actors, condemned ARN Media’s lack of disclosure. “Australian listeners deserve honesty and upfront disclosure instead of a lack of transparency leading them to trust a fake person they think is a real on-air person,” Lim wrote in a LinkedIn post. Her comments reflect growing concerns about the ethical implications of using AI in roles traditionally filled by human talent, particularly when audiences are not informed.
The show, which debuted in November 2024, has proven popular, reportedly reaching at least 72,000 listeners, according to The Financial Review. ARN Media’s CEO, Ciaran Davis, defended the experiment, stating, “We’re trying to understand what’s real and what’s not. What we’ve learned is the power of the announcers we have.” However, the decision to keep Thy’s AI nature under wraps has raised questions about authenticity in an industry built on personal connection with audiences.
This is not an isolated case. Globally, media companies are increasingly experimenting with AI. In the United States, a Portland, Oregon, radio station and Sirius XM have tested AI hosts, while a Polish radio station faced backlash after replacing journalists with AI presenters in 2023, only to reverse the decision following public outcry. Similarly, Microsoft recently disclosed that an advertisement for its Surface product, released in January 2025, was AI-generated, highlighting the growing trend of undisclosed AI use in media.
The controversy surrounding Workdays with Thy underscores broader questions about the role of AI in creative industries. While AI offers cost-effective and innovative solutions, critics argue that failing to disclose its use risks eroding trust with audiences. As radio stations and other media outlets continue to explore AI’s potential, the balance between innovation and transparency remains a critical challenge.
For now, CADA’s listeners are left to wonder: who—or what—is behind their favorite shows? As Lim emphasized, “Audiences deserve to know what they’re engaging with.” The debate is far from over, but one thing is clear: AI’s presence in media is only set to grow.
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