Fly FM’s search for its next AI DJ draws criticism

Malaysian radio station Fly FM has been on the hunt for its next artificial intelligence radio host, offering successful applicants a RM2,000 monthly contract in exchange for the rights to clone their voice, personality and style into a "digital twin."

The initiative, dubbed "Project NextGen" and carrying the tagline "Become Fly FM's next AI DJ," asks hopefuls to submit a 30-second audition clip via flyfm.audio ahead of a 15 September deadline. Five finalists were to be shortlisted, with three eventually selected to sign contracts. Winners were also promised a one-day takeover of the station's non-stop music programming block, followed by a month running their own AI-hosted show.

The station, owned by Media Prima Audio, promoted the campaign across Instagram, X and TikTok with copy pitched at listeners who have "always wanted to be a DJ" but lack the experience, confidence or time to pursue it conventionally. However, as of 18 September, checks by A+M revealed that all posts across social media as well as the webpage involving the project has been taken down.

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In the radio station's posts prior to being taken down, ProxifAI is credited as the voice-cloning technology used. ProxifAI dubs itself as a service providing "ethical digital twin & licensed AI likeness".

Fly FM stressed that participants' digital twins are built with consent, positioning the format as distinct from deepfake content generated without a subject's knowledge or agreement.

However, there were criticism online focusing on the gap between the RM2,000 monthly figure and what a human DJ might typically earn, once statutory benefits such as EPF and SOCSO contributions are factored in.

Other commenters have questioned the scope of what participants are signing away — specifically, whether a flat monthly fee gives Fly FM ongoing rights to a reusable AI version of someone's voice and likeness.

At the time of writing, Fly FM has not publicly commented on the backlash or directly replied to any of the commenters' questions. A+M has also reached out to the station for comment.

Project NextGen follows Fly FM's earlier AI DJ, Aina Sabrina, who launched in June 2023 as Malaysia's first AI radio host. Aina ran a two-hour weekday show, aided by a full production team who kept her responsive to listener call-ins in real time.

Days before Project NextGen's public launch, Fly FM posted footage of Aina appearing to walk off the air mid-show without explanation. It's a moment social media users have since characterised as a staged "ragequit" timed to set up the search for her successor, referencing it as a mark of the "AI sloppification of Malaysia".

Back in 2023, A+M has also previously reported on a similar issue when Fly FM had its fully AI radio DJ crew take over for a day,

Comments seen on the radio station's account were mostly unhappy, with a number of them claiming that they would be unfollowing the Instagram account. Analysis by CARMA found that the brand's sentiments skewed negative at the time of the 2023 stunt.

“We knew having AI vs humans would be polarising, and the sentiment that most listeners would prefer our real announcers is positive for us,” said a representative at Media Prima Audio to A+M at the time.

“As a brand, it was part of a radio stunt, and we are pleased with the outcome that audiences still love our Fly FM team, and that we don’t have to switch to an all-AI radio team," added the representative.

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