On Friday, the Olympic organizers revealed their strategy to deploy AI in sports. This seems like an effort to be a part of the worldwide frenzy and to benefit from the rapidly developing tech.
The new tech will be used to aid in identifying the best-performing athletes, making sports more fairer by improving judgments, and to define methods of personal-level training, as the International Olympic Committee presented its plan for taking advantage of AI.
AI in sports
IOC leadership was present at Lee Valley Velodrome, an arena for cycling events. The president of the IOC highlighted the importance of adopting the changing technology to maintain the uniqueness and relevance of the Olympics. At a press conference in London at the Velodrome at the Olympic Park, IOC President, Thomas Bach said,
“Today we are making another step to ensure the uniqueness of the Olympic Games and the relevance of sport. To do this, we have to be leaders of change.”
He also added,
“We are determined to exploit the vast potential of AI in a responsible way.”
Source: AP.
From selling the rights to the broadcast of the Olympic games, the IOC earns billions of dollars. IOC plans to use the technology to enhance the watching experience for folks watching from home by assisting broadcasters, and they also plan to utilize the technology to protect the players from online harassment.
AI cameras for surveillance raised concerns
Without giving more specific details, Bach said that a working group has been set up to push the progress of AI adoption in sports, and he also pointed out that some other AI projects will be disclosed at the Paris games.
The Paris Games’ local organizers have provoked controversy over some of their plans. They said that they would use cameras with intelligent features for surveillance. According to them, the system will be used to identify crowd surges or abandoned packages, as these very things can be potential security risks.
The French government insisted that facial recognition tech will not be used. But the watchdog groups are showing concerns that a plan to legitimize this type of surveillance system, even for the time being, will violate privacy. Bach said that these decisions are not under the IOC’s domain as he pointed out that the host countries are responsible for deciding on methods of security for games addressing these concerns. He also expressed his confidence in the measures that the French authorities are taking, saying that they are on a wider scope.
The original story can be seen at AP news agency.
