![Al Michaels AI]()
A.I. Al.
That opening line sounds better if it's spoken. I'll admit it's a little confusing seeing it typed out, so if there's any confusion, that says "artificial intelligence Al," as in the accomplished broadcaster Al Michaels. We all good now?
Great, let's move on.
The media industry as a whole is in a strange place with artificial intelligence. On one hand, the
advanced technology has troubled artists and others who have not given permission for the likeness of their voice to be used. On the other, the creation of A.I. has led to great things, like
Randy Travis being able to release new music.
For the most part, many companies have shied away from utilizing A.I. when it comes to voice work (or they've been super secretive about it). However, NBC seems to be going full steam ahead with artificial intelligence with this recent development.
For the upcoming summer olympics, NBC will lean on A.I. to recreate Al Michael's voice. His narration will be used to compliment custom recaps of the 2024 Olympics on the Peacock app. Somewhere along the line, Michaels must have signed off on NBC being able to use a computer-generated version of his voice, which makes me wonder... could using this basically allow Al to call football games forever?
Football fans might remember that Michaels used to be one of the voices behind NBC's
Sunday Night Football, until he jumped ship and joined up with Kirk Herbstreit to call Thursday night games for Amazon Prime Video. Michaels is still actually employed by NBCUniveral, albeit an emeritus role, so that's how they've been able to use his voice for this latest technological feat.
Check it out:
https://twitter.com/FOS/status/1806020435991015728
How do you feel about that? It's cool, I'll admit, but a little creepy. Plus, Al Michaels is still alive, so what's stopping him from getting in the studio and recording some lines to be utilized? He's been a part of so many memorable Olympic moments (does "Do you believe in miracles?" ring a bell?), and now this kind of feels like a cheap shortcut to keep him involved.
Michaels himself was apparently hesitant when the idea was initially floated, and only changed his mind when he heard a demonstration. After that, he was "all in," and I'm sure whatever he got paid for all of this helped with his "all in" attitude.
