- Wondery Sports Podcast has introduced an AI host named “Striker” on its daily show, The Lead: Starting Five.
- The AI sports anchor, crafted from machine learning algorithms, assists with the writing and provides sports updates specifically for listeners in the New York area.
- Despite the innovative introduction, the AI’s presentation has been criticized for being “boring” and “repetitive”.
- AI use in sports media, though spreading, has generally received negative feedback for providing inferential value, often missing exciting and critical points in games.
The Wondery Sports Podcast now has a new host, the AI sports anchor Striker, introduced to its daily show, The Lead: Starting Five. This comes as an attempt to give casual fans concise updates about the latest sports topics. Striker is crafted using machine learning algorithms and assists human hosts in writing.
The AI comes on after the human hosts sign off from the show and delivers summaries of the recent sports events in the New York City area. The show prioritises listeners from New York, dedicating a large portion of the show to providing updates tailored for that specific region.
However, the introduction of the AI host has not been without criticism. Content presented by the AI has been considered inferior and is often dismissed as repetitive and boring. In comparison to the human-hosted portion of the show that discusses vibrant mix of topics.
In addition, the implementation of AI in sports media has been increasingly prevalent, with another media company G/O Media also launching several bots. Such instances have been unsuccessful so far as content produced by them seem to be lacking in depth and the ability to engage listeners. Yet even as the AI algorithms continue to evolve, they still struggle to effectively capture and convey the dynamism and excitement of live sports events.
Despite the shortcomings, the use of AI like Striker does indicate a potential path towards more automated content creation, not only in the field of sports, but within media and news industries as a whole. The test run with Striker and the subsequent feedback will give Wondery valuable insights towards improving its AI use and future implementations.