Morgan State University partners to research the use of AI in sports reporting

With $100k from Google, and tech from JRSportBrief, students will create AI audio and video

The use of artificial intelligence in journalism is controversial, to say the least, with many expressing misgivings about potential bias and errors creeping in to fact-based stories. Sports journalism is no exception: in 2023, ESPN and Sports Illustrated both announced they were going to be using AI, leading to massive backlash, including from journalists whose jobs were being filled. 

Not everyone agrees about the downsides of AI in sports coverage and news reporting, though, so now Morgan State University’s School of Global Journalism and Communication (SGJC) has announced a partnership with JRSportBrief Productions to research the use of the technology in the space.

The research and performance testing of the AI-based enhancements will be conducted by  SGJC’s Center for the Study of Race and Culture in Sports and the University’s Center for Equitable AI and Machine Learning Systems (CEAMLS). Tapping into a $100,000 contribution from Google, students from the Center and CEAMLS working on the 10-week project will use JRSportBrief Production’s SportBrief AI Solutions to generate pre- and postgame wrap-ups in audio and video formats and test their work.

Those students will also create a literature review and a prototype of the AI tool, integrating computer technology and sports journalism standards and ethics.  

The project will be overseen and led by SGJC Professor of Practice Edward Robinson III, who also directs the Center for the Study of Race and Culture in Sports, and Ganiyu-Adewumi, a graduate student mentor.

Morgan State University, founded in 1867, is a Carnegie-classified high research (R2) institution. It's also the largest of Maryland's historically black colleges and universities (HBCU).

The Center for the Study of Race and Culture in Sports was created by Morgan’s School of Global Journalism and Communication created in 2017, providing training for students interested in sports journalism, sports production, and sports strategic communication. The Center also prepares them to operate as professionals with the right reporting, writing, and multimedia skills.

“We are looking forward to beginning our work with CEAMLS and JRSportBrief Productions on this groundbreaking project,” Robinson said in a statement.

“This collaboration not only underscores our commitment to fostering innovation and excellence in our students but also highlights the potential of AI to transform the sports media landscape.”

(Image source: morgan.edu)