NBC will use AI version of Al Michaels’ voice for Olympic coverage

Sarah Fortinsky and The Hill

9 hours ago

(The Hill) – NBC announced Wednesday that it will use artificial intelligence (AI) to imitate the voice of renowned sportscaster Al Michaels in a new tool designed to complement traditional coverage of the Olympic Games this summer.

The tool, called “Your Daily Olympic Recap on Peacock,” uses AI software to create a 10-minute personalized playlist of highlights from the previous day’s event. The daily recap is delivered by an AI recreation of Michaels’ voice, which, the company said in its press release, “matches his signature expertise and oratory.”

The announcement comes at a time when AI is becoming more prevalent in everyday life, raising questions about its role in creative industries like journalism and media. Michaels seemed to acknowledge these concerns in his press release.

“When I was asked about it, I was skeptical, but of course curious,” Michaels said. “Then I saw a demonstration that explained in detail what they were going to do. I said, ‘I’m in.'”

NBC said a team of NBCUniversal editors will review all content included in the summaries, including audio files and clips, “for quality assurance and accuracy before the summaries are made available to users.”

NBC said the technology draws on hundreds of clips produced daily by NBC Sports, totaling 5,000 hours of live coverage from Paris, where NBC said 40 events are sometimes taking place simultaneously. The AI ​​technology will enable nearly 7 million personalized versions of the daily summaries.

The tool is available to subscribers of NBC’s streaming platform Peacock, where users can access the recaps via the homepage or the Olympics hub. The opening ceremony will take place on July 27. Personalized daily recaps will be available starting July 28, after the first full day of events.