Many people believe legendary broadcaster Al Michaels is one of a kind.
NBC is apparently not one of them as the network plans to use Artificial Intelligence to recreate Michaelsâ voice for recaps during Summer Olympics in Paris, NBC News announced Wednesday.
âYour Daily Olympic Recap on Peacockâ will include a âhigh-quality A.I. re-creationâ of Michaelsâ voice that uses his past work on NBC to match his âsignature expertise and elocution,â the streaming service announced.Â
Michaelsâ reaction to this turn of events was also the feature of an interview with Vanity Fair in an interview also released Wednesday.
In a word, he was âskeptical.â
âWhat would I sound like?â Michaels said. âWould I sound like a guy who just spews clichĂ©s? Would my voice be different?â
Michaels said he was âvery skepticalâ plan âuntil he heard the AI voice. âFrankly, it was astonishing. It was amazing,â he in the interview. âAnd it was a little bit frightening.â
Michaels, 79, could not believe the likeness of the AI voice compared to his.
âIt was not only close,â he said. âIt was almost 2% off perfect. Iâm thinking, Whoa.â
Peacock, along with NBC News is by NBCUniversal, a unit of Comcast, said about 7 million personalized versions of the recap could be streamed during the Games, NBC News said.
âPeacock continues to introduce unique customer-first features that strengthen our unmatched leadership in live streaming,â Kelly Campbell, the president of the streaming platform and head of NBCUniversalâs direct-to-consumer unit, said.
Michaels has been a part of NBC Sports since 2006 and was a part of the networkâs âSunday Night Footballâ through 2021.
He has been a part of many memorable events in sports history, including at 1980 Lake Placid Winter Olympics.
When the U.S. hockey team beat the Soviet Union in an upset, Michaels exclaimed, âDo you believe in miracles? Yes!â
The announcement by NBC comes at a time when AI has been under fire
âYour Daily Olympic Recap on Peacockâ will streaming to subscribers with a customized playlist that provides highlights of the competitions.
âThey were able to do exactly what I might â I shouldnât say âexactly,ââ Michaels said. âIt sounded like what I might say in certain situations.â
But it appears not everyone is on board with this new, artificial Al Michaels and they said as much on X, formerly Twitter.
https://twitter.com/cmall/status/1806020838979785156
