Do you believe in microchips?
The AI boom has made its way to one of the most legendary voices in American TV history. Via Tom Kludt of VanityFair.com, an AI version of Al Michaels will narrate daily highlights during the upcoming Olympics, for what will be called “Your Daily Olympic Recap on Peacock.”
“Frankly, it was astonishing,” Michaels told Kludt. “It was amazing. And it was a little bit frightening. . . . It was not only close, it was almost 2% off perfect. I’m thinking, Whoa.”
Rick Cordella, NBC Sports president (and Man You Can Blame For The 15-Year-As-Of-Next-Monday NBC/PFT Partnership), said Michaels was the “perfect choice” for the role.
“Al deserves credit for leaning into this technology so enthusiastically,” Cordella told Kludt.
It’s just another development in the ongoing proliferation of AI technology. It could, if the audiences would ever accept it for live events (unlikely, but who knows?) render live broadcasters obsolete.
“I just sat there and thought, ‘In the next life, I’m going to need a new profession,’” Michaels, the play-by-play announcer for Amazon’s Thursday Night Football, told Kludt.
Or maybe the AI version of Al could call games and/or narrate NFL highlights indefinitely into the future.