Thy was cooked up by ElevenLabs, an AI voice clone built from the vocal cords of someone in the ARN finance department. No disclosure, no disclaimers, just machine-generated banter passed off as human.

The scandal surfaced after Stephanie Coombes rumbled the setup in The Carpet newsletter. CADA played the AI game in stealth mode since November, and “Workdays with Thy” had quietly pulled in 72,000 listeners in the latest ratings.

Voice actors are less amused. Australian Association of Voice Actors vice president Teresa Lim said:“AI can be such a powerful and positive tool in broadcasting if there are correct safeguards in place. Authenticity and truth are so important for broadcast media. The public deserves to know what the source is of what's being broadcast.”

CADA’s parent outfit ARN seemed chuffed about its little experiment. “We've been trialling AI audio tools on CADA, using the voice of Thy, an ARN team member,” a spokesperson said.

“This is a space being explored by broadcasters globally, and the trial has offered valuable insights.”

In a dazzling bit of corporate backpedalling, the spokesperson added: “It’s reinforced the power of real personalities in driving compelling content.”

Right now, the Australian Communications and Media Authority reckons it’s fine—there’s no rule saying AI has to be disclosed in broadcasts. But don’t expect that to last long.

Lim said: “We need to have these discussions now before AI becomes so advanced that it's too difficult to regulate.”