AI Opens New Possibilities In Radio Broadcasting But Cannot Replace Human Touch

By Bernama Lifestyle Reporter

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 13 (Bernama) -- The emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) in the creative industry has opened up new possibilities for the broadcasting world but is unable to replace the role of radio presenters with the human touch.

Former well-known radio presenter Halim Othman, 62, said the presence of AI may facilitate access to information and open up new experimental space in the audio world, but the “warmth” of the human voice remains the backbone of the platform.

“There is no denying that AI can make things easier because it can provide any information we want. But radio is about communication from soul to soul, and that is still human work.

“When a presenter speaks, it is not merely from mouth to ear, but from the presenter’s soul to the listener’s soul, and that is something AI cannot do. If people say that presenters will not be able to earn a living in the future, I think the one profession that cannot be taken over by AI is radio presenting,” he said at the programme Digitalising Frequencies: The Future of Radio in conjunction with World Radio Day 2026 at Bernama Radio here today.

Halim said that although radio was a form of entertainment, it remained a performance art that required balance between information, entertainment and emotional connection.

He reminded industry players to return to the authenticity of radio as a “faceless performance” that relies entirely on the strength of the voice and the ability to spark listeners’ imagination.

“I see many people now placing cameras in studios. But radio is essentially not glamorous. It lives in the studio and depends on the voice. For radio to be loved again, we need to return to the ability to brighten someone’s day through the voice,” he said.

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Sharing the same view, popular radio presenter Linda Onn, 49, said radio’s strength lay in the relationship between presenter and listener, which required emotional chemistry that could not be replaced by AI.

“I started in the era of CDs and cassette tapes, relying heavily on newspapers and magazines for information. Now people expect AI for everything, from finding information to organising ideas. For me, we need to return to the soul.

“These robotic things, I feel, do not reach our soul. So we ourselves must know how to evaluate what is genuine and what is merely technology,” she said.

Linda, who is also an entrepreneur, however, did not rule out that the media landscape would become more challenging over the next 10 years with the emergence of various digital platforms and voice-synthesis technologies.

-- BERNAMA