AIPS Centenary Congress Santa Susanna 2024
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AI is revolutionising sports but cannot replace human intelligence
L-R: Gianni Merlo, Juan Antonio Samaranch, Rafael Santonja, Dobromir Karamarinov, Michael Payne and Leonz Eder (Photo by Carlo Pozzoni/AIPS Media)
SANTA SUSANNA, May 4, 2024 – The AI revolution is sweeping through the world of sport and many international federations are embracing this phenomenon to transform their sports. This is why the International Olympic Committee took the initiative to launch its Olympic AI Agenda. Speaking as part of a panel at the 86th AIPS Congress, the IOC vice-president Juan Antonio Samaranch said the Olympic body as a “pioneer, guardian and catalyst” needs to lead the way. “We have to coordinate the access to these new technologies, especially AI, and make sure that they are evenly distributed and access is granted to everybody,” he added.
Rafael Santonja – President of International Fitness and Bodybuilding Federation (IFBB), Leonz Eder – President of the International University Sports Federation (FISU), Dobromir Karamarinov - President of European Athletics and Michael Payne – former IOC Marketing Director were part of the panel discussion “The future of sport and the impact of AI”, which was moderated by AIPS President Gianni Merlo.
From optimising athletic performance to elevating fan experience and engagement, sports organisations are leveraging AI to accelerate progress. Many sports have also turned to AI to assist in make refereeing and judging faster and fairer. But will AI replace human judges and human coaches in the long run? “The intention is not to replace human intelligence,” Samaranch said.
BENEFITS OF AI The IOC said AI could be used to help identify promising athletes in every corner of the world, provide personalised training methods for athletes and revolutionise injury prevention and recovery. The AI agenda is also geared towards strengthening fairness in sports judging, improving safeguarding in sport, transforming spectator experience and helping broadcasters improve the viewing experience for people watching from home.
UNFAIR JUDGING Unfair judging is one of the prevalent issues in sports, but these days AI has been introduced to eliminate human errors and biases. FIG President Morinari Watanabe was not part of the panel but he made a presentation on how gymnastics is implementing AI to tackle unfair judging. In cooperation with an AI solutions provider, FIG developed a Judging Support System (JSS), which made its debut on four apparatus at the 2019 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Stuttgart (GER). “The elimination of misjudging will be achieved through parallel use of human judging supported by the “shadow” judging of AI. Currently, there is a gap between the scores that athletes get at national competitions and the scores that athletes get at the Olympic Games. The AI judging of gymnastics will be like the use of false start and photo-finish technology in athletics. It means that gymnasts will be scored by the same standard in all competitions.”
CONTROL In March 2024, the IFBB Exco decided to implement a new repetition counting system using Artificial Intelligence, to achieve greater accuracy and fairness in every challenge. “At IFBB we see AI as a very important and useful tool but the most important thing for us is to keep it under the control of human beings and the human power,” said Santonja.
The need for human control was also echoed by FISU President Eder. The International University Sports Federation recently signed a long-term partnership aimed at accelerating “the adoption of digital technologies across the whole university sport movement”. Payne also referred to AI as a child that needs proper guidance.
ENGAGEMENT “Digitalisation and innovation” is a priority in the European Athletics Strategic Roadmap 2024-2027 in a bid to transform European Athletics digital platforms and content services. European Athletics said its long-term aim is “to use its digital platforms as a driver to growth and the promotion of the sport as well as create new revenue streams by attracting new partners and sponsors”. At the 2023 European Games, European Athletics worked with long-term partner Eurovision Sport, owned by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), to provide 24-hour audio coverage from its events by using artificial intelligence (AI) to clone the voice of former athlete and commentator Hannah England. This was to help engage new audiences.
OLYMPIC AI AGENDA The Olympic AI Agenda sets out “the envisioned impact that Artificial Intelligence (AI) can deliver for sport and how the IOC, as the leader of the Olympic Movement, intends to lead on the global implementation of AI within sport. It establishes the IOC’s ambition and guiding principles, identifies high-impact areas for AI application, and explores the framework and governance mechanisms needed to mitigate risk and promote the responsible use of AI,” said the IOC.
MARKET VALUE According to Allied Market Research, the global artificial intelligence in sports market, which was valued at USD$1.4 billion in 2020, is projected to reach USD$19.2 billion by 2030 and it seems inevitable that sports and AI will continue to intertwine for years to come.
Rafael Santonja – President of International Fitness and Bodybuilding Federation (IFBB), Leonz Eder – President of the International University Sports Federation (FISU), Dobromir Karamarinov - President of European Athletics and Michael Payne – former IOC Marketing Director were part of the panel discussion “The future of sport and the impact of AI”, which was moderated by AIPS President Gianni Merlo.
From optimising athletic performance to elevating fan experience and engagement, sports organisations are leveraging AI to accelerate progress. Many sports have also turned to AI to assist in make refereeing and judging faster and fairer. But will AI replace human judges and human coaches in the long run? “The intention is not to replace human intelligence,” Samaranch said.
BENEFITS OF AI The IOC said AI could be used to help identify promising athletes in every corner of the world, provide personalised training methods for athletes and revolutionise injury prevention and recovery. The AI agenda is also geared towards strengthening fairness in sports judging, improving safeguarding in sport, transforming spectator experience and helping broadcasters improve the viewing experience for people watching from home.
UNFAIR JUDGING Unfair judging is one of the prevalent issues in sports, but these days AI has been introduced to eliminate human errors and biases. FIG President Morinari Watanabe was not part of the panel but he made a presentation on how gymnastics is implementing AI to tackle unfair judging. In cooperation with an AI solutions provider, FIG developed a Judging Support System (JSS), which made its debut on four apparatus at the 2019 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Stuttgart (GER). “The elimination of misjudging will be achieved through parallel use of human judging supported by the “shadow” judging of AI. Currently, there is a gap between the scores that athletes get at national competitions and the scores that athletes get at the Olympic Games. The AI judging of gymnastics will be like the use of false start and photo-finish technology in athletics. It means that gymnasts will be scored by the same standard in all competitions.”
CONTROL In March 2024, the IFBB Exco decided to implement a new repetition counting system using Artificial Intelligence, to achieve greater accuracy and fairness in every challenge. “At IFBB we see AI as a very important and useful tool but the most important thing for us is to keep it under the control of human beings and the human power,” said Santonja.
The need for human control was also echoed by FISU President Eder. The International University Sports Federation recently signed a long-term partnership aimed at accelerating “the adoption of digital technologies across the whole university sport movement”. Payne also referred to AI as a child that needs proper guidance.
ENGAGEMENT “Digitalisation and innovation” is a priority in the European Athletics Strategic Roadmap 2024-2027 in a bid to transform European Athletics digital platforms and content services. European Athletics said its long-term aim is “to use its digital platforms as a driver to growth and the promotion of the sport as well as create new revenue streams by attracting new partners and sponsors”. At the 2023 European Games, European Athletics worked with long-term partner Eurovision Sport, owned by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), to provide 24-hour audio coverage from its events by using artificial intelligence (AI) to clone the voice of former athlete and commentator Hannah England. This was to help engage new audiences.
OLYMPIC AI AGENDA The Olympic AI Agenda sets out “the envisioned impact that Artificial Intelligence (AI) can deliver for sport and how the IOC, as the leader of the Olympic Movement, intends to lead on the global implementation of AI within sport. It establishes the IOC’s ambition and guiding principles, identifies high-impact areas for AI application, and explores the framework and governance mechanisms needed to mitigate risk and promote the responsible use of AI,” said the IOC.
MARKET VALUE According to Allied Market Research, the global artificial intelligence in sports market, which was valued at USD$1.4 billion in 2020, is projected to reach USD$19.2 billion by 2030 and it seems inevitable that sports and AI will continue to intertwine for years to come.
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