U.S. HISPANIC
Grupo Fórmula Mexico launches Nat, a host designed with artificial intelligence
Maribel Ramos-Weiner| 31 de marzo de 2023
Nat condutora creado por IA
Grupo Fórmula Mexico launched a television host called Nat designed with artificial intelligence (AI). It was assembled using three platforms, one for the image, another for the voice, and the third to build its remarks.
Héctor Aguilar, Executive Director of Technology and Distribution, Grupo Fórmula, explained that in the last eight months, they have advanced technologically with the opening of new studios and the incorporation of the Fast channel on Roku, Samsung, among other devices, with which they had the need to think about innovative content.
“It was an adventure in which we worked with three platforms, one for character creation, one for voice creation, and one for interaction and content. When designing the avatar, we thought about inclusion, so we decided that it would have Latino features, with a brown complexion, who looked serious and young. Then we did the clothing, the hair, the hairstyle. It took us a month to build the character, along with the voice, for which we tested several types: some were very robotic or slow, and we adjusted it until we found the one that was best for the content,” explained Aguilar.
They used the platform chatGPT to create the content. For strategy reasons he didn’t mention the other platforms with which they worked. For Nat content remarks there is human intervention: a person builds the agenda of what she is going to say, asks chatGPT for the content, and this content is integrated into the animation.
They are designing a version that would act in real-time, and even interact with other avatars, for instance, commenting on the news with a partner. “The two platforms are integrated with an API, to achieve live animation. This has its pros and cons, so we are doing enough testing before launching it,” he said.
Also, they are designing new characters, and estimate that in two or three months they will have a half-hour show with the interaction between two or more characters. “We are betting everything on these new technologies,” he said, after commenting that they already have the beta version of the host speaking in real-time or live, but they are testing in order to avoid any mistakes.
He explained that for these programs they plan to use informative summaries. But he discarded including opinions because he’s working with information from digital media.
He stated that their intention is not to replace newscasters or commentators but rather to create new programs and other types of content to strengthen their offer. “It will mean more work, not less. We are not planning to replace anyone because at Radio Fórmula we have the best hosts in Mexico.”
He said that they are aware of the responsibility of what is said on the air, so they have to carry out sufficient tests.
Nat debuted on Friday, March 18, and on Thursday the 24th ‘she’ began with news summaries, and on Friday the 25th ‘she’ had ‘her’ first interview with Joaquín López Dóriga. “We are about to release version 1.1 which has clothing changes, which will surely happen next week.”
The summaries are available at 11am, 4pm and 9pm on the TeleFórmula channel, cable systems, or smart televisions.
