'Players aren’t automated, so why?': Filipino sportscasters cry foul as AI presenters debut on local sports TV
(UPDATED 1:46 p.m.) MANILA, Philippines — While the debut of artificial intelligence (AI)-generated sportscasters in the broadcast of NCAA’s Season 98 can be viewed as a technological advancement, some of their human counterparts have voiced their opposition and expressed alarm.
GMA Network, the NCAA’s official broadcaster, on Sunday showcased “AI presenters” Maia and Marco when the league’s 98th basketball tournament kicked off at the Mall of Asia Arena.
“Maia” and “Marco” debuted during the halftime of the game between the Letran Knights and the JRU Heavy Bombers.
May bagong makakasama ang ating NCAA court side reporters para maghatid ng mas malawak na sports coverage! Sa halftime ng laro ng JRU Heavy Bombers at Letran Knights, ipinakilala ng sports anchor na si Martin Javier ang mga unang AI sportscaster sa Pilipinas. Meet Maia and Marco!… pic.twitter.com/nZASmcyRyX
— GMA Integrated News (@gmanews) September 24, 2023
Veteran sports broadcaster and journalist Anthony Suntay was among those in the local sportscasting community who gave a thumbs down to this.
“I’m not in favor of it,” said Suntay, who is also a sports columnist of Philstar.com. “There's an abundance of talented sportscasters, why would we need AI?”
“Secondly, AI cannot replicate the love and passion for the game. The game is played with so much energy and emotion which AI cannot convey,” he added.
Former Philippine Sports Commission chairman Noli Eala, another veteran sportscaster, posted on X (formerly Twitter) that he would still prefer “personal and intimate” reports by local sportscasters.
AI is taking over the world! ???? While clearly we have to embrace progress, I wonder how personal and intimate reports can be as compared to the ones given by our local sportscasters. I’m still a traditionalist. I say NAY! https://t.co/3YsnRzuMIz
— Noli Eala (@NoliEala) September 23, 2023
For his part, Paolo Barcelon, who calls esports tournaments, told Philstar.com that he is alarmed with GMA's move to use the AI presenters.
There will be a lot of limitations for AI sportscasters, he said, adding that emotions are a big part of sports and that it is something that cannot be captured by AI-generated casters.
“AI-generated sportscasters, while they are a technological step ahead, is an alarming thought especially for talents like us who do gigs for esports. At first I was surprised, but surprise turned to disappointment knowing that they cannot entirely capture the mood, emotion, feeling, and excitement of the game,” said Barcelon, who was previously a news reporter for PTV and CNN Philippines.
Another limitation is the preparation being done by human sportscasters, which, according to Barcelon, “allows them to give an accurate picture of what lies ahead.”
Aside from these, Barcelon is also worried over sports companies cutting costs on producing sports events, which could possibly affect the employment of sportscasters in the future.
“There may be more AI sportscasters in the future thanks to a precedent set by GMA, but I hope that other sports production companies, especially in esports, still invest more on having people call the action for the audience,” he stated.
“Talents have also spent years perfecting their craft and for them to be replaced by AI-powered ones would certainly mean loss of talent opportunities.”
While the NCAA and GMA cited their move to deploy AI presenters as "groundbreaking", social media users slammed this amid concerns that sportscasters may be affected by AI in the future.
Intent behind AI
STAR columnist Quinito Henson, one of the most recognizable faces in the Philippine sportscasting industry, said his stance on the use of AI in sports broadcasts depends on the network's overall intention.
"Was it ever GMA’s intention to replace play-by-play and color commentators and courtside reporters with AIs? Because it would be disastrous if that was the concept,” Henson told in a message to Philstar.com.
“In some countries, AIs are created to deliver news at a unidimensional level, meaning reporting straight cold-blooded news without interaction or heart on TV. Was the intention for sports to mobilize AIs only for updates and reports without audience engagement as a form of innovation? If the idea is to use AIs in any other way, it would be a disservice to fans who deserve a passionate, incisive, analytical and human approach,” he continued.
Like his peers, Henson pointed out the lack of personality and emotion typical of AI renders of sports presenters.
"The issue isn’t just about replacing capable human presenters with animations. This is about keeping the personal and emotional aspect of sports on the screen."
‘Not journalists’
Meanwhile, a GMA official defended their decision to turn to AI presenters, saying they are meant to only enhance the coverage of the games and not to replace human sportscasters. This would appease the concerns of well-known figures in the industry like Henson.
"Maia and Marco are AI presenters, they are not journalists, they can never replace our seasoned broadcasters and colleagues who are the lifeblood of our organization. We are now living in the age of AI and other major news organizations worldwide are already using this as a tool to improve their operations. As the leading news organization in the Philippines, we will constantly look for ways to hone our craft, while preserving the value of our human assets and the integrity of our reporting," Oliver Amoroso, GMA Network Senior Vice and Head of Integrated News, Regional TV, and Synergy Oliver, said in a report on the network’s news website.
For the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, the latest instance should serve as an opportunity for newsrooms to develop policies that would make the use of AI as a tool and not a replacement for journalists.
“We urge colleagues to start these conversations in these workplaces if they aren’t happening already and ensure that issues on ethics and accountability are threshed out before policies are rolled out,” NUJP said in a statement Sunday.
AI already part of journalism
Philippine newsrooms should look into both the benefits and detriments of using AI in news reporting, a journalism professor said.
In an email interview with Philstar.com, Assistant Professor Jeremaiah Opiniano, Ph.D., a journalism professor from the University of Santo Tomas, said that AI has been used in journalism for some time now.
Wire agencies, for instance, have been using AI to write stock market news reports, the educaNewsrooms urged to address ethics, accountability issues ahead of AI rollouttor bared, but the copy is still edited after.
“The approach, some say, would allow journalists and editors to do some depth reporting. But in this instance, why are people not protesting about it? AI-generated stock market news reports have been there. So is this issue seeing AI 'replace' human journalists a concern?” Opiniano said.
“I think it is time for Philippine newsrooms, big and small, to carefully study the pros and cons of using artificial intelligence in news work. Other newsrooms in many parts of the world are doing these reflections already. There are even new editorial and journalism ethics guidelines being developed on using AI,” he added.
Opiniano added that Filipino journalists should also look at how AI could be a helpful tool for good journalism.
“Should there be 'harmful' outcomes in using AI, the follow-up question is what editorial- and ethics-related measures may need to be done? And should newsrooms not want to use AI (a preference which we respect), how can overall journalism be made better that not even AI can do on its own?” he said.
Suntay, for his part, just does not see sense in deploying AI presenters.
“Our players aren’t automated or artificial, so why make the sportscasters AI?”
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