The big hype in the technological world right now is artificial intelligence — or at least, what passes for A.I. these days — which has popped up in many aspects of everyday life in the last few years.
One example where tech is creeping into play is sports broadcasting — a topic that was covered by the streaming show “Up & Adams” which hosted Florida alumnus [autotag]Cris Collinsworth[/autotag] recently. On it, they discussed how an A.I. version of Al Michael’s voice will be used as part of Peacock’s Olympic coverage, with the Gator great also revealing that his voice will also be used similarly on another platform.
According to Collinsworth, an A.I. version of himself is pending at Pro Football Focus for use on their show. The former star wide receiver gushed over the technological feat of mimicking his announcing chops.
Never thought we'd see the day where Cris Collinsworth explains A.I. to us 😅
Al Michael’s Olympic A.I. explained @CollinsworthPFF 🔊
@heykayadams pic.twitter.com/mPDcxeRDqq— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) July 9, 2024
“It’s unbelievable… We do all these game scripts and storylines and all these things… and do it in your voice,” he begins. “And you just stay home. They put a picture of you up there, and you stay home, and you got a whole show, and it sounds just like you. If you haven’t heard it yet, you gotta do it. They did a thing of me doing PFF highlights in my voice, and you sit there, and you can’t even believe it.”
Collinsworth continued, further noting his wonderment in the advancement.
“It’s not like taped. It’s not like any part of your voice. They put old audio tapes of your voice in a machine, and it comes out, and it’s you. For me, all the different stutters and starts and stops — exactly how I talk. It’s unbelievable. Wait ’til you hear Al Michaels do it; you’ll think it’s Al. And he’ll be sitting in the swimming venue with me and cheering on our USA.”
Is A.I. a positive step forward for sports announcing or a harbinger of chaos to follow? Collinsworth appears to be in the former camp and a willing pioneer on the frontier of technology.
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