Luis García, another TV Azteca commentator, expressed his disagreement with the use of technology to replace his partner. In his statements after the meeting between Mexico and Costa Rica, García expressed his discontent and described the decision to use AI as “slop.”
The case of the use of an ‘artificial’ Jorge Campos in the broadcast of the match has reopened the debate on the role of artificial intelligence in the media industry and its potential impact in the workplace. Some wonder if the adoption of this technology in the field of sports storytelling could pose a threat to the jobs of commentators and other industry-related professionals.
Last week this debate reached its peak in hollywood, when actors, producers and screenwriters united in a strike that caused the closure of productions in the film and television industry. The last time writers and actors went on strike together was in 1960, but this time the demand is to regulate the advancement in the use of AI.
Digitization has transformed the media industry. Social networks such as TikTok and Twitter are essential for information, while streaming platforms have become the main source of entertainment, displacing traditional media. This change in content consumption has caused advertisers to focus more and more on these channels, relegating traditional media to a second option.
TV Azteca has recognized in the past that attracting advertising revenue has become increasingly complicated due to changes in technology and consumer habits. In its report for the fourth quarter of 2022, the latest available, the company led by Ricardo Salinas Pliego reported a 68% drop in profits, mainly attributed to the decrease in advertising sales and the high costs related to the transmission of the Qatar 2022 World Cup matches.
AI has the potential to help reduce costs, as it can automate tasks such as 24-hour customer service, script or news writing, and sporting event narration. This positions it as an attractive option for companies looking to reduce their expenses and overcome financial challenges, at the expense of mass layoffs.
The fine line between cost efficiency and job losses
Miguel Ángel Campos, director of Automation Anywhere México, a company specialized in automation through AI, highlights that the implementation of artificial intelligence in companies to optimize their internal processes represents an investment with a very attractive return of 200% or 300% per year.
“We have just done a study for a paint company that needed to reduce its costs by 2% and by intervening with the AI in the company, we managed to reduce its total operating expenses by 4% and this led us to a return on investment of 300%”, he says.
TV Azteca is another company that has been exploring the use of Artificial Intelligence for the last six years, mainly through robots to improve decision-making in its operation. Now, they have decided to take this technology one step further by applying it to their programming, as could be seen in the use of AI to imitate the voice and style of Jorge Campos during the broadcast of the Mexican National Team match.
For the director of Automation Anywhere México, the AI test on TV Azteca will be a guideline that other media outlets can follow, since the integration of this type of technology, to recreate characters like Jorge Campos during sports broadcasts, translates into greater audience capture.
“Putting AI into an internal process to make a company more efficient is not as sexy as putting AI out there for everyone to see.”
The manager revealed that TelevisaUnivision is another of the media companies that would take the same route, while Formula Group used AI to create a virtual host, named Nat, who now does news breaks.
Although the near future of the media is to increasingly integrate iconic characters with AI, the manager recognized the need to regulate this technology to prevent possible effects on people. The goal of any technology should be to assist humanity and even allow a reduction in working hours, not take away their jobs.
Personalities from the world of technology such as Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla; Jaan Tallinn, the co-founder of Skype, and Steve Wozniak, the co-founder of Apple, among others, previously spoke out for temporarily halting the advancement of Artificial Intelligence because the implications this technology would bring are not yet known.
“Without a doubt we are at a time when people feel endangered by AI, but I believe that if this technology is used well and ethics is maintained in terms of its use, it will not replace the human being,” concludes the manager of Automation Anywhere Mexico.