The Possibility of AI-Created Podcasts: Are They Worth Listening To?

Podcasts are an incredibly popular form of content: in 2022, listeners downloaded a stunning 226 million podcasts every single week—roughly 20% more than the previous year.

Why the popularity? One big reason is the way podcasts allow individuals to tailor their media consumption down to a granular level, giving them freedom of choice. Whatever you’re into; whichever sport or sports team or political persuasion, there’s a podcast (or 20) about it.

Another significant appeal of listening to podcasts is the sense of human connection. You feel like you're sitting in the middle of the conversation, and the voices of your favorite podcast hosts quickly become like familiar friends.

For podcast hosts, the job feels like one that's protected from the AI transformation. But is it?

In May of 2023, The Joe Rogan AI Experience said otherwise. This YouTube channel created an hour-long podcast using AI technology that replicated the voices of host Joe Rogan and guest The Rock with shocking accuracy.

So are these podcasts as good as the real thing, and do they have a place in the world of podcasting? Here's a closer look at these questions.

How AI Systems Replicate Podcasts

AI uses voice cloning technology to replicate audio data from a podcaster. The technology collects audio data of the person and feeds it through a neural network to recreate it with a high level of accuracy.

Add an AI-generated script, and you have a podcast that is AI-created from start to finish (well, almost).

How AI Systems Enhance Podcasts

AI tools aren't just for content creation. Automated tools can remove background noise or clarify hard-to-hear words to enhance the work of human podcasters.

Cloned voices could lend a celebrity's endorsement to an advertisement without taking their time to record the ad. These enhancements are a promising way to weave AI into the podcasting world without removing the human element.

Why AI-Produced Podcasts Could Become Relevant

What are some positives of adding automation to podcasting? First, as with most types of automation, the idea brings more efficiency to the podcast world. The Podcast Index estimates there are over 4 million indexed podcasts, and every three days, nearly 85,000 new episodes hit the web. To become and remain competitive in this saturated market, podcast producers must be able to make new, quality recordings quickly. Using AI makes the entire process faster.

Second, AI can adjust the content of a podcast based on user history. If a target audience enjoys podcasts on subjects of sports or tech, the AI can produce more content on those topics.

Turning to AI to produce podcasts doesn't eliminate the ability to have human hosts or podcast guests. An AI could interview a human, or a podcast could alternate between AI-produced content and human-produced content, all in the same voice, to create more podcasts and keep the human component in place.

Potential Drawbacks of AI-Generated Podcasts

The main drawback of AI-generated content is the lack of human touch and warmth. While the Joe Rogan AI Experience listeners were impressed with how lifelike it sounded, the channel's creator, known only as "Hugo," called it "wasted time." Other AI podcast creators expect listeners to fall away after the novelty of the tech wears off.

Why? Because podcasts are built on conversations, not information. AI excels at the latter, but it isn’t truly capable of the former. Conversations require spontaneity, warmth, and a human touch, and no AI to date can deliver on these elements. AI also can't replicate human creativity, which is part of what makes podcasts so engaging.

In addition, some listeners find AI-generated podcasts quite boring. The voices sound robotic or formulaic, and listeners are left wanting something different.

The Future of Audio Content with AI

There are significant drawbacks to AI as a podcast generation program, but there are benefits to using it to enhance podcasts.

Our take? We predict that the future will likely be a merging of AI technology with human creativity to make podcast creation more efficient without sacrificing the quality and human warmth of the platform.