Not by the Playbook - Is AI the future of sports commentary?

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On this week’s Sportshour, former British athlete Hannah England joins us after having her voice cloned by artificial intelligence. You can hear “Hannah-bot” delivering updates from the European Team Athletics Championships in Poland on YouTube, with tennis’ Wimbledon set to follow suit over the next few weeks. Is a new era of sports commentary being ushered in?

This week is World Refugee Week and to mark the occasion we’re joined by 20-year-old Benham, who has been living in the United Kingdom since fleeing Iran in 2019. After the trauma of having to leave his home, family, friends and education, Benham has suffered from anxiety and depression. He tells Caroline Barker that playing sport has been the key to rediscovering happiness, sharing details of his recent trip to Wimbledon where he received tennis coaching and got a glimpse of Centre Court.

We’re joined by two of the Woolf Women – an all-female group of downhill skateboarders who, following the sudden death of one of the group’s father, decided to embark on a 3500 mile trip across Europe. A film is being released documenting their journey, with Anna Pixner and Alejandra Cardenas stopping by to tell us all about the sport and their hopes of getting it into the Olympic Games.

Plus, after teaching her how to play rugby league over Zoom during the covid-19 pandemic, York Valkyrie’s Lindsay Anfield went to visit her close friend Fortunate Irankunda in Uganda, as the former rugby union player tries to develop the sport in her country. She took half a dozen of her team out with her to run training sessions, school mini-tournaments, referee workshops and provide equipment. We’ll hear how it went.

Photo: European Athletics Commentator, Hannah England at work during day two of the European Games 2023 at Silesian Stadium on June 21, 2023 in Silesia, Poland. (Credit: Getty Images)

Published on Saturday, 24th June 2023.

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