When Kobe Bryant died in 2020, the following quote spread across social media in honor of his memory: “heroes come and go, but legends are forever.” The legends part may still be true, but some heroes are no longer allowed to go in the NBA—not when AI can resurrect them ad infinitum.
It’s happening right now to beloved sportscaster Jim Fagan. Fagan died in 2017, but NBC is planning to give him his job back this upcoming season, per TheWrap. The network has recreated Fagan’s instantly recognizable voice with AI, and will use it to narrate select title sequences and other promos for the basketball season.
At least the ickiness factor is slightly negated by the fact that NBC completed the project in collaboration with Fagan’s family. Fagan’s voice “perfectly captured the magnitude of the heavyweight matchups and stars that he was introducing,” NBC Sports president Rick Cordella said in a statement on the network’s decision. “It’s been a joy to work with Jim’s family to recreate his voice and honor his legacy. I’m excited we’re able to introduce his voice to a whole new generation of fans.” Added Fagan’s daughters: “We’re deeply grateful that NBC Sports had the vision to honor our father’s legacy in such a meaningful way… Knowing that his voice will once again be part of the game he loved—and that a new generation of fans will get to experience it—is incredibly special for our family. He would be so thrilled and proud to be a part of this. It’s been a true pleasure working with NBC Sports on this project.”
This isn’t the first time NBC has used AI to recreate someone’s voice. The network also did it last year to Al Michaels for a personalized tool called “Your Daily Olympic Recap.” The difference, of course, is that Michaels is very much alive and was able to consent to this use of his own legacy.
The network says that Fagan’s AI voice will be used to “supplement” the voiceover work of other broadcasters hired by the network, so human effort allegedly isn’t going by the wayside entirely—at least not yet. Still, it’s a worrying, ethically ambiguous trend at best. If networks keep zombifying the heroes of yesteryear, how will any new legends be born?
