SAN FRANCISCO: The US media giant NBCUniversal has announced that it will use the AI version of an iconic sports broadcaster during the Paris Olympics games.
The company will use Al Michaels’ voice through artificial intelligence to recap viewers of NBC’s Peacock streaming service.
The renowned broadcaster Michaels has worked for nine Olympic Games for NBC Sports and ABC Sports during his long career. Michaels said in a release said when he was approached about this idea, he was skeptical but obviously curious. “Then I saw a demonstration detailing what they had in mind. I said, ‘I’m in.'”
The AI was trained on the Michaels’ voice along with his past appearances on NBC broadcasts. Peacock president Kelly Campbell said in the release said they are bringing the best of sports together with the best of technology to provide a unique personalized Olympics experience to fans.
The development comes at a time when actors, and musicians whose livelihoods depend on their likenesses are striving hard to make sure AI models are not trained on such material without their permission.
According to NBCUniversal estimates, nearly 7 million different personalized versions of the daily Olympic recap could be streamed across the US during the Olympic Games to be held in Paris in July 2024.
The technology will also mine NBC Sports clips to create daily playlists. A team of NBCUniversal editors will review all the content for quality and accuracy.
NBC and Peacock will also give live coverage of the Olympic Games, starting with the opening ceremony on July 26.
