“Time TV”
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NBC is bringing a model of famed sportscaster Al Michaels again to the Olympics this summer time with an unlikely twist: His voice might be powered by synthetic intelligence.
NBC introduced on Wednesday it can use AI software program to recreate Michaels’ voice to ship each day recaps of the Summer time Video games for subscribers of its Peacock streaming platform, a milestone for using AI by a significant media firm.
Using an AI voice for the Olympics comes because the expertise has grown by leaps and bounds, significantly in its skill to create pictures, sound and textual content. That, in flip, has raised questions in artistic industries, similar to journalism, about how synthetic intelligence can – and even ought to – be used.
A brand new instrument, referred to as “Your Each day Olympic Recap on Peacock,” will allow 10-minute highlights packages, which might embody occasions updates, athlete again tales and different associated content material customized by subscriber preferences.
The corporate stated the highlights could possibly be packaged in about 7 million other ways, pulled from 5,000 hours of stay protection in Paris, successfully making AI (the unreal intelligence, not the person) a considerably extra environment friendly option to ship customized recaps.
“Once I was approached about this, I used to be skeptical however clearly curious,” Michaels stated in a press launch. “Then I noticed an illustration detailing what they’d in thoughts. I stated, ‘I’m in.’”
Michaels, a long-time broadcaster, is at the moment the play-by-play sportscaster for Thursday Night time Soccer on Amazon Prime. He’s additionally recognized for his work on earlier Olympics Video games broadcasts for each NBC and ABC and for calling the Miracle on Ice Sport on the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York. The corporate didn’t instantly reply to questions on how they’re compensating or partnering with Michaels on this product.
The corporate stated a group of NBC Sports activities editors will overview all the content material, together with audio and clips, to ensure all the things is factually correct and names are pronounced appropriately.
The highlights instrument might be out there on Peacock by way of net browsers and iOS and iPadOS apps beginning July 27.
