Artificial intelligence has taken the world by storm over the past few years, and the sports and media industries are no exception. Much of the industry has approached artificial intelligence with a skeptical side-eye. However, J.R. Jackson of JRSportBrief Productions, Google, and Morgan State University’s School of Global Journalism and Communication (SGJC) are looking to improve sports reporting with the help of AI.
This project, Jackson’s brainchild, began as an idea to enhance traditional sports gameday content, making it more efficient, such as with pre/post-game wraps and box scores. Jackson, who hosts a nationally syndicated afternoon drive sports radio show, reached out to contacts at Google and got them onboard with a $100,000 donation toward the development and research of SportBrief AI Solutions. A portion of proceeds from the SportBrief AI Solutions project will also go toward providing scholarships to Morgan State AI students.
HBCU Morgan State University and its Center for the Study of Race and Culture in Sports, along with the University’s Center for Equitable AI and Machine Learning Systems (CEAMLS), will perform the research and testing for these AI enhancements. The involvement of an HBCU school alongside an entity like Google in bringing the idea of a Black broadcaster (Jackson) to life is a huge deal.
SGJC Professor of Practice Edward Robinson III is overseeing the project and leading a team of engineers. Robinson’s team consists of graduate mentor and lead software engineer Farouk Ganiyu Adewumi and software engineers Gbolahan Abioye and Oluwajomiloju King, all of whom have made great contributions to the project.
“We are looking forward to beginning our work with CEAMLS and JRSportBrief Productions on this groundbreaking project,” Robinson explained. “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.”
This project provides a chance for the next generation to become more familiar with the AI space through a real-life scenario. It also represents a great opportunity to showcase how a historically black university can educate and innovate in partnership with black entrepreneurs like Jackson.
“This collaboration represents an exciting opportunity to combine academics with real-life industry expertise in a fast-moving space like AI,” said Jackson. “By joining forces with Morgan State University, we aim to empower the next generation of AI innovators while delivering unparalleled sports coverage to audiences.”
In speaking with Jackson, he also discussed the underrepresentation of Black professionals in tech and journalism. By joining forces with Morgan State and its CEAMLS program, Jackson is ensuring that the Black community is covered. Working on his creation with MSU, CEAMLS, along with backing from Google, is something Jackson could not be more grateful to be part of.
“I had options in developing SportBrief AI Solutions,” Jackson stated. “I’m a sports broadcaster, not an engineer. I would have had to hire an individual or company to code and create the tool. Earlier this year, I learned that Morgan State University had opened its CEAMLS. A few years ago, Morgan State was a stop on my Media for the Movement tour with Special Olympics, so the relationship was there.”
“I reached out to see if any students could help develop the SBAI tool, and the answer was yes. Black Americans are underrepresented in the spaces of both journalism and tech, so I found this collaboration to be more beneficial to everyone involved instead of paying an entity to build SBAI, then being done with it. Having started my career on Google’s YouTube platform 15 years ago, I reached out to see if they could help with development costs, and they made the donation on my behalf.”
It’s apparent that Jackson, largely known by his show name, JRSportBrief, is honored to be in a position to give back to the community by teaming with a Black university on such a historic project that could help transform sports coverage into the future.
“I’m forever grateful because this doesn’t just help me,” expressed Jackson. “It helps the community, the university, the students, and their futures. It also helps highlight a model where businesses and higher education can work together in a mutually beneficial way. With the success of SportBrief AI in the marketplace, it’s my goal to continue giving back with opportunities and resources to underserved communities in the tech, sports business and journalism spaces.”
