Artificial Intelligence and Automated Production – The Great Debate

By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital on December 19, 2018

Artificial intelligence and automated production tools are already impacting the way sports events are produced, but the technologies are still in the early stages and there is much to be learned.

During a conversation at the 2018 SVG Summit, a pair of production pros share their thoughts on the technology and break down whether all AI systems created equal, how one can evaluate which AI system is the smartest for the task; and whether AI coupled with automated production can really tell the story as well as a human production team?

The conversation featured Dennis Cleary, Director for ESPN Remote Production Operations and Steve Grigely, VP, Technical Operations at Fox Sports Regional Networks. It was moderated by Jason Cohen, VP, Remote Technical Operations at CBS Sports and CBS Sports Network.

Watch the session in its entirety:

Here are some highlights from the discussion:

Fox Sports dipped their toes in the water of using artificial intelligence and automated production as part of its coverage of NAIA basketball in 2018. Grigely describes the workflow and the benefits that were seen from it:

Artificial intelligence and automated production offer tremendous promise to sports production in the future helping tackle massive events and the long tail of sports content. However, the technology is still exceptionally young and immature. Cleary and Grigely honestly assessed the negatives of the technology and its limitations. They also make suggestions where growth can be made:

This session is sponsored by Sony Electronics.

For more one-on-one interviews, highlights from conference sessions, and full keynote conversations and panel discussions, visit SVG On Demand.