ESPN’s subsequent sports activities commentator is an AI avatar

When you’re a football fan and excited by AI, you may be intrigued to listen to what ESPN is planning to introduce to its school soccer protection.

ESPN has announced it’s trialing a brand new AI avatar known as FACTS, which the community will take a look at on its common school soccer present, SEC Nation. FACTS is being constructed to ship “pre-game discussions, selling training and enjoyable round sports activities analytics.” The info can be sourced from ESPN Analytics, which incorporates knowledge like participant and staff statistics, recreation schedules and the Soccer Energy Index (FPI). ESPN made the announcement at its fourth annual ESPN Edge convention.

It is unclear when the AI avatar will make its debut, as ESPN says “integration timing continues to be being mentioned.” FACTS is constructed on Nvidia Omniverse, and is built-in with Azure OpenAI to deal with language processing and ElevenLabs, an AI audio platform, for text-to-speech capabilities. The generative AI avatar is being developed on the ESPN Edge Innovation Middle.

FACTS is supposed to enhance on-air expertise

ESPN says FACTS is not going to exchange journalists

With the rise of AI over the previous couple of years, one concern about it has at all times been what its impact could possibly be on the job market. On this case, the impact it may have on journalists at ESPN.

In a press release, ESPN states its new AI avatar is “completely not” meant to exchange journalists or on-air-talent. “FACTS is designed to check improvements out available in the market and create an outlet for ESPN Analytics’ knowledge to be accessible to followers in an interesting and pleasurable section,” ESPN said. “It enhances our journalists and on-air expertise, offering further insights.”

This is not the primary time ESPN has utilized AI applied sciences. Earlier this 12 months, the sports activities community added generative AI to its web site through AI-written recreation recaps. It is laborious to evaluate ESPN’s FACTS AI avatar with out first seeing it in motion, but it surely’ll be fascinating to see if it has any character to it, and the way school soccer followers react to AI giving them analytics over a human being. Do AI analysts have a job in the way forward for stay sports activities? FACTS could possibly be the primary actual take a look at.

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