Thinking of Taking a Golf Lesson from AI Choi Kyung-ju... Visiting the 'SKT Open'

AI Handles Lessons, Broadcasting, and Analysis... AI Golf Tournament
Over 30 Hours of Kyoung-Joo Choi Videos Analyzed to Create AI Human

"I am AI Choi Kyung-ju. From what I see, an obstructed proper rotation causes a steep backswing, and during the downswing, the upper body rushes toward the target, resulting in distance loss at a low angle. Please raise your left pelvis slightly. Now you can do well, right?"

From the 18th to the 21st, I experienced the 'AI Human One-Point Lesson' at the 'SK Telecom Open 2023 On-site' held at Jeju Pinx GC. When I swung the golf club at the corner, AI Human Choi Kyung-ju analyzed the motion and provided this feedback.

'AI Choi Kyung-ju One-Point Lesson' Demonstration
Photo by Oh Su-yeon

This service links SKT's AI Human technology with Golfzon's GDR technology. When you swing, the AI analyzes each joint of the user's motion and identifies mistakes. The actual response is also positive. On the morning of the first day, the 18th, rain delayed the start of the game by four hours, but about ten gallery visitors came to try it out. An SKT official said, "Users responded positively, saying it was fun and that they wanted one at home," adding, "Some people even answer 'Yes' to AI Choi Kyung-ju's question, 'Now you can do well, right?'"

SKT introduces new IT technologies every year at the SKT Open, leading trends in sports broadcasting. The metaverse broadcast screen, first introduced by SKT in Korea, has now become the standard for golf broadcasts. This year's SKT Open was organized as an AI golf tournament. Choi Kyung-ju, co-chairman of the tournament, appeared as an AI Human for the broadcast, delivering various game information such as round-by-round viewing points to the audience.

AI Choi Kyung-ju utilized SKT's voice synthesis technology and DeepBrain AI's face swap technology. Facial and voice data were extracted from about 30 hours of past game footage, combining human modeling technology with SKT's voice synthesis TTS (Text to Speech) engine.

Heesang Park, head of the SKT Sports Content Planning Team, is explaining the technology used in the 'SKT Open'.
[Photo by SKT]

Park Hee-sang, head of SKT's Sports Content Planning Team, demonstrated the technology. AI Choi Kyung-ju appeared on screen saying, "I will analyze and predict this tournament, so please watch me kindly," and added, "My younger self will appear shortly, so please be kind to that friend as well." Since Choi was in the U.S. during production and could not be 3D scanned directly, the AI Human was created using past footage, making the face appear slightly stiff, but the gestures and voice felt natural.

Park said, "Recently, AI bots analyze real-time game data like writing sports articles, extract sentences, and create text files, which AI Choi Kyung-ju reads during the broadcast. For example, if Choi's performance is poor, he might say, 'I will work hard tomorrow,' adding emotion to the technology." The first round reads a pre-prepared script, but from the second round, the AI immediately broadcasts the game based on real-time AI analysis results. It is just like a live sports broadcast by a human.

Next, AI boy Choi Kyung-ju was demonstrated. During the SKT Open broadcast, a documentary aired showing AI-restored young Choi Kyung-ju meeting the real Choi and having a conversation. To help Choi, who lost most of his childhood photos in a fire, AI image restoration technology 'Supernova' and voice synthesis technology were used to recreate young Choi Kyung-ju. The young Choi said in the Wando dialect, "I will practice hard. I didn't know what golf was, but I will work hard to go to Seoul, go to the U.S., and succeed." SKT recruited a youth from Gwangju with a mother from Wando to secure voice data and developed young Choi Kyung-ju over one and a half months.

A PD is watching the game broadcast screen at SKT's 'AI Media Center.'
[Photo by SKT]

Just as monkeys sometimes fall from trees, even smart AI occasionally makes unexpected mistakes. Introducing AI into live sports broadcasts, risking broadcast accidents, is not an easy decision. Lim Jeong-yeon, head of SKT Media R&D, said, "Over the past few years, we have built trust with broadcasters through various attempts such as audio noise removal technology, automatic slow-motion creation, and graphics showing swing trajectories." Also, the broadcast production team and SKT AI researchers at the on-site 'AI Media Center' checked audio and AI highlights in real time, supporting high-quality game broadcasts.

Additionally, services like 'Plus Bar,' which provides AI highlights, enhanced viewing convenience. Golf-specific services were added to A. tv, allowing viewers to check automatically generated player highlights, ranking information, and scores. Besides the AI Human One-Point Lesson, the AI assistant 'A.' offered various on-site entertainment, such as recommending three preferred ice cream flavors through a psychological test.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.