“They do have a time-out, decide not to use it…Curry, way downtown—BANG BANG! Oh, what a shot from Curry!”
“One final roll of the dice, can they hit the jackpot. Gomez… Lionel MESSI! Oh my goodness, Lionel Messi has done it again! He’s super human!”
“LAKAD MATATAAAAGGGG!!! Normalin! Normalin!”
Recognize any of these lines? These are just some of the greatest calls in sportscasting history, as these contain raw human emotion that add hype and drama to the game, especially to the perspectives of viewers. But can you imagine the world of sports without these voices? As these are now silenced by artificial intelligence-generated voices.
On September 23, GMA Network announced its debut on the use of AI as the country’s first-ever Artificial Intelligence (AI)-generated sportscasters, Maia and Marco, in their pursuit of the future of sports broadcasting. GMA’s Senior Vice President and Head of Integrated News, Regional, and Synergy, Oliver Victor B. Amoroso, said that the introduction of the first AI sportscasters “aligns with our mission to serve all communities within the nation and promote inclusivity in our reporting”.
While this breakthrough may sound revolutionary, it is rather the opposite. Nothing about this is promoting inclusivity at all. This poses danger and a great threat to broadcasting and journalism in general, as this only discredits the efforts of those who are working in the field and discourages those who aspire to work in the industry of journalism.
When you watch any sports or even listen to the radio, you hear people who commentate on every single highlight and play of the game that keeps your feet up throughout the match of your favorite player or team; this is how sportscasting works — the very soul of sports.
Sportscasters offer some great calls during the game that provide viewers with great excitement, intense hype, and gut-wrenching moments that are unfolding before your very eyes. It adds more depth to the game—another element that makes it beyond interesting and entertaining for the viewers. It decorates a historical event and amplifies a moment that captures the very emotion of the fans and the players themselves, something not even a camera can do.
Yet many people tend to overlook the importance of sportscasting, and miss the magic it creates in journalism; as it transcends the passion and the human drama of sports to a whole new level, and many viewers don’t even realize that it’s actually what gets them to continue watching the game.
So, with the introduction of AI sportscasters in the field of journalism and broadcasting, now poses a threat to press freedom— in which we continue to fight so hard up to this day. As these AIs eliminate the legitimacy of the truth that a broadcaster delivers since AI’s can be easily manipulated and can be programmed to perform things without any remorse, sympathy, or empathy at all that humans have.
While change is inevitable and welcoming advancements like this are pivotal for human development, and at some point AIs can become helpful to others, yet, we should always keep in mind that technologies like this should only exist to assist human endeavors and improve the quality of work that we do. Under no circumstances should it ever replace professionals and aspirants who work so hard and have spent years of study and training in broadcasting and journalism.
If “inclusivity” is what truly motivated GMA for this initiative, they should rather focus their efforts more on hiring and utilizing talented people in the field of journalism, provide opportunities for those who are new to the industry, and hone their strengths and weaknesses to their advantage.
One can never know until to what extent we can exploit the presence of AI in our society. Now, GMA network, starts with AI Sportscasters; and it is most likely an unstoppable catalyst to a fully AI-generated world of journalism if its heads won't be cut as early as today.
It is important to emphasize that sportscasting or broadcasting in general should only be conveyed and delivered through human emotion for authenticity and genuineness, and that's something that A.I. can never EVER replace, because in journalism— we broadcast with a purpose.