AI hosted my podcast today, here's why (Podcasting)

The show must go on....

I HATE hate hate hate hate lazy producers. The show must go on. If your podcast has a schedule, hold to it.

Here’s today’s Daily Comedy News. For the first half, you will hear a human host with a terrible sounding voice. In the second half, you will hear something that sounds a lot like the usual host, saying things in a style you are used to hearing. My voice gave out after six minutes or so, and I turned things over to the Johnny MacBot.

As I drove back from the National Donuts Chain this morning doing my usual QC Listen, I thought how good the Johnny MacBot sounded in the second half. Like really really good.

Now, I am not going to tell you HOW I did this, as this is one of the Secret Sauces of Caloroga Shark Media (we are way more ahead on AI than I think the “AI is the devil crowd” realize).

With no voice my choices were:

Skip a show. Did I mention I hate lazy producers? Figure something out.

Use the emergency episode. Did I mention I hate lazy producers? This one is sitting there just in case. And note the labeling in case its not me that hits publish on it because of Unforeseen Event.

Slog through, sounding like garbage, and maybe doing it in segments because my voice was giving out.

Find a guest host.

Use a generic AI host.

Johnny MacBot.

I decided Johnny MacBot was the best of the options.

I didn’t lie to my audience, and told them what they were about to hear. On tomorrow’s episode I am open that it’s words by me, vocals by Johnny MacBot. It;s not a trick. I didn’t lay myself off and replace myself with a cheaper option.

Thanks to my business partner Mark Francis, the “Eddie Van Halen” of AI for showing me the tricks on how to whip this up.

Is it perfect? Nope. Is it pretty darn good for a day where I lose my voice, for someone listening an 1.5x while riding a subway or driving a car or running on a treadmill. Yep!

There was of course no video, because watching someone sick talk into a microphone would be crazy, no matter what Spotify says.

TOMORROW’S show is all Johnny MacBot. Hopefully Human Johnny Mac is back in the saddle for Tuesday.

….

The human generated substack continues tomorrow with Music Monday, and then I have some odds and ends I plan on covering Tuesday, and another What I’m Listening to Wednesday.

Yesterday I shared my YouTube Podcasting Earnings, in an article that went under-read because I dropped it on a holiday weekend like an idiot. That’s linked below.

Also, I am enjoying all the backlash against Video Podcasts. There have been a LOT of articles this week pushing back against the rush to video. It reminds me of a year ago when everyone knew ios17 was an issue, but nobody would admit it. Seems we were all thinking the same thing about video but nobody wanted to go first.

And and and, I am loving James Cridland running with the Simmons thing. Insert Michael Jackson Popcorn gif.