Sports fans have grown accustomed to listening to Al Michaels call the biggest sporting events. Now, A.I. Michaels is going to put on the headset and try its best Michaels impression.
NBC is reportedly going to roll out an artificial intelligence version of the iconic broadcaster's voice for the 2024 Paris Olympics, using the voice to provide recaps of different events throughout the games.
Michaels left his full-time role with NBC in 2022 to join Amazon Prime Video and become the play-by-play commentator for the streaming service's inaugural "Thursday Night Football" broadcast. He has maintained an emeritus role with the network, making occasional appearances on NBC despite his new home being at Amazon.
His long history as a broadcaster has led to some iconic moments in sports history, ranging from his "Do you believe in miracles?" call in the Miracle on Ice game to several other Olympics, World Series and Super Bowls.
Fans will now hear a version of Al Michaels they've never heard before: As an AI duplicate. Here's what you need to know about the new voice.
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Al Michaels AI voice, explained
NBC did not make the decision without consulting Michaels, according to Vanity Fair. The network approached him about the clone of his voice, and had him listen to it.
Initially, Michaels was "very skeptical," wondering if the voice would sound any different or if it would "sound like a guy who just spews cliches?" But then he heard the voice.
"Frankly, it was astonishing. It was amazing," he told Vanity Fair. "And it was a little bit frightening."
He described the voice as "not only close, it was almost 2 percent off percent." Michaels told NBC the network could use the AI edition, which Vanity Fair reported will be used as a feature on Peacock to provide daily recaps at the Olympics.
The feature will assemble clips from the day's events and place them into 10-minute packages to highlight the biggest moments, according to NBC Sports. It will also put together previews. A.I. Michaels will give commentary over highlights. Everything will be reviewed by editors before being published.
The voice was designed by having AI listen to Michaels audio and attempt to match his delivery. Michaels stopped short of saying the program had would mimic his exact words and phrases during calls, but said it "sounded like what I might say in certain situations."
There are still concerns Michaels has for AI, even if there is also excitement about the possibilities. He noted the fear many have that AI will someday replace screenwriters.
Additionally, he noted even broadcasters could face challenges with AI.
"I just sat there and thought, in the next life, I'm going to need a new profession," Michaels told Vanity Fair.
Roughly 7 million variants of the program, which will be called, "Your Daily Olympic Recap on Peacock," are expected to be streamed across the U.S., all personalized to what different fans hope to have included in their videos.
"Peacock continues to introduce unique customer-first features that strengthen our unmatched leadership in live streaming," Kelly Campbell, President of Peacock and Direct-to-Consumer, NBCUniversal, said in the press release. "With these recaps alongside interactive elements like Peacock Live Actions and Discovery Multiview, we're bringing the best of sports together with the best of technology to deliver fans a personalized Olympics experience in a way that’s never been possible before."
