Season 99 of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) will introduce the country's first Artificial Intelligence (AI)-generated sportscasters, Maia and Marco.
GMA Network made the announcement on Saturday, September 23, 2023, a day before the new season of the country's oldest collegiate league officially opens.
Maia and Marco, according to the Kapuso network, will deliver "updates on local and international sports featuring Filipino athletes on the social media platforms of GMAIN (GMA Integrated News), GMA Sports, and GMA Synergy."
Meet Maia and Marco — the Philippines’ first AI Sportscasters!
— GMA Integrated News (@gmanews) September 24, 2023
Now that #NCAASeason99 has started, they are here to help our courtside reporters by giving updates in sports!
Follow GMA Integrated News, @GMASportsPH , and GMA Synergy on social media for their exclusive reports. pic.twitter.com/CPMFEyyNVJ
Said Senior Vice President and Head of Integrated News, Regional TV, and Synergy Oliver Victor B. Amoroso: “GMAIN's adoption of AI technology also demonstrates our commitment to innovation in journalism. We embrace emerging technologies to stay at the forefront of the media industry by providing our audience with a modern and engaging sports news experience.
Read:
Funny or scary: AI-edited photos showing Tom Cruise, other famous people in Divisoria
The danger of deepfakes: how they can impact your reputation and privacy
WHAT PEOPLE SAY
While the innovation is undoubtedly groundbreaking in Philippine media, opinions vary on whether this new gimmick signals the beginning of networks relying more on AI technology rather than real people in the workplace—in this case, AI-generated personalities taking over the role of journalists and news anchors to dish out news and information to the public.
Read: Meet Lance Santiago, Palanca-winning essayist now GMA-7 courtside reporter covering NCAA
Celebrity host KC Montero, for one, left a comment on the X (formerly Twitter) account of GMA Integrated News to briefly express his thoughts.
Welp.. there goes my job
— KC Montero ???????? (@KCMontero) September 24, 2023
Some were quite firm in saying that they aren't too keen on watching and listening to AI-generated personalities.
Others, meanwhile, were receptive to the idea and even excited to see how the innovation would pan out.
Journalist Roby Alampay has mixed feelings about the innovation, being in the media industry himself.
On one hand, Roby keeps an open mind on AI technology and its growing role in journalism.
At the same time, Roby worries about the possible effects on the morale of the people who might feel insecure about their roles.
"I think we can all agree on therefore is the importance of asking ahead of anything else, Why indeed? As a much respected fellow editor said over a chat with me yesterday: 'What problem are they trying to solve?' Unless they think their sportscasters (and anchors) are a problem," he mused on Facebook.
He continued, "But assuming you all agree that there is something to fix, and you do want to use AI, what we're also conscious of is: If you don't explain to, or manage to bring, the entire team into the vision, the questions raised may actually be manifesting from demoralization, and unrecognized, that can have long-lasting damage."
In the end, Roby refrained from judging "this latest experiment," which he also called "intriguing," but would be watching intently and with caution.
Meanwhile, in a statement released on Sunday, September 24, 2023, network executive Oliver Amoroso assured that Maia and Marco were not created as substitutes for journalists and broadcasters under the network's stable.
"Maia and Marco are AI presenters, not journalists; they can't replace our seasoned broadcasters and colleagues who are the heart of our organization."
— GMA Integrated News (@gmanews) September 24, 2023
Oliver Victor B. Amoroso, GMA Network's Senior Vice President and Head of Integrated News, Regional TV, and Synergy,…