How AI is transforming sports at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games

Generative AI is taking many industries by storm, including sports. At this year’s Olympic Games in Paris, the emerging technology is being integrated into every aspect of the event to enhance the experience for athletes and fans alike. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) recently launched the Olympic AI Agendaan initiative to inspire the use of AI in the Olympic Games. Olympic partners around the world seized the opportunity to showcase AI innovations, from chatbots for athletes to machine learning-generated performance recommendations to improve sleep quality in the Olympic Village.

The integration of AI into sports is not new. The NFL has been working with Amazon Web Services (AWS) since 2017. Earlier this year, they created the AI-powered Digital Athlete tool to help NFL teams understand the needs of players to stay healthy and perform at their best. The NBA has also embraced AI. In February, it debuted a generative AI feature called NB-AIdesigned to enhance and personalize the live gaming experience for fans by turning game highlights into animated superhero movies.

At the Paris Olympics, AI will play a supporting role. For example, the IOC’s AI-powered monitoring system will protect athletes from online abuse by flagging offensive social media posts for intervention. Athletes can use the AI ​​chatbot AthleteGPT on the Athlete365 platform to quickly get answers to questions about social media guidelines, anti-doping rules and Rule 50, which prohibits political, racial or religious propaganda. The chatbot, developed by Paris-based Mistral AI and powered by Intel’s Gaudi processors, can quickly search through thousands of pages of information and is accessible 24/7 exclusively to athletes via the Athlete365 app. Intel has also developed a pilot program with the IOC in Senegal to identify potential athletes in five villages, scanning more than 1,000 children and identifying 40 with exceptional talent.

A scaled-down version of this system is on display in Paris, allowing fans at the Stade de France to simulate participation in various Olympic Games, with an AI model evaluating their form and talent.

Behind the scenes, AI is also revolutionizing Olympic planning and execution. IOC Chief Technology Officer Ilario Corna said the committee has been collecting operational data since 2020 to improve management. For planning, the IOC used Intel’s digital twinning technology to create digital representations of venues, allowing them to predict power needs, camera positions and accessibility issues without being on site.

In collaboration with commercial and broadcast partners, the IOC has also deployed AI to enhance the viewing experience and enrich storytelling. Alibaba’s OBS cloudlaunched in September 2018, will support this year’s broadcasts and help reduce the carbon footprint by delivering Olympic content via the cloud.

In addition, Omega, the official timekeeper of the Olympic Games, has partnered with Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) to deliver faster, more relevant and insightful data through AI. For example, AI-based motion capture technology helps commentators and viewers track the positions of athletes during events such as canoeing, marathons, race walking, cycling, marathon swimming, rowing, sailing and triathlon.

Despite the promise, the role of AI in the Olympics has also generated controversy. The latest concerns Google’s withdrawal from its Olympics ad, which was widely criticized. The ad, titled “Dear Sydney“showed a father asking Google’s AI chatbot Twin to help his daughter write a letter to her favorite athlete, American hurdler and sprinter Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone. It showed the draft produced by Gemini and ended with footage of the girl running on the track with the text overlay: “A little help from Gemini.”

The ad was criticized for depicting a young girl using AI to write a fan letter, with some viewers feeling it undermined the creativity and authenticity. As a result, Google decided to pull the ad. “While the ad was well-tested before airing, given the feedback, we have decided to gradually phase it out of our Olympic rotation. We believe AI can enhance, but never replace, human creativity,” Google said in a statement.

As the world watches these innovations unfold, the balance between harnessing the benefits of AI and addressing its challenges will shape the future of the Olympic Games and the broader intersection of technology and sport. Despite AI’s promising contributions, traditionalists and ethical concerns remain resistant, highlighting the need for a careful approach to integrating AI into sport.