ESPN is testing a generative AI avatar called 'FACTS'.
Could this artificial intelligence bot surprise Schwab?
ESPN is in the process of testing an AI-generated avatar on its college football show, SEC Nation. This avatar, named FACTS, aims to "promote education and fun around sports analytics," utilizing data from ESPN Analytics. This includes information such as the Football Power Index (FPI), player and team statistics, and game schedules.
Although the avatar has not yet been seen in action, it sounds like an automated version of the statistics encyclopedia Howie Schwab, who was ESPN's first statistician and later became the star of a quiz show in the mid-2000s, Stump the Schwab. The company has already incorporated artificial intelligence on its website with game summaries written by AI.
The development of FACTS is still underway, and no information has been provided on when it might officially debut on the network. This avatar uses Nvidia's cloud avatar engine (ACE) as well as OpenAI integration on Azure for language processing and ElevenLabs for its text-to-speech capabilities.
During the ESPN Edge Innovation conference, the network stated that FACTS "absolutely does not" intend to replace journalists or other talent. Instead, it was designed to test innovations in the market and provide a space where ESPN Analytics data can be accessible to fans in an entertaining and engaging way.