LONDON (AP) — Olympic organizers unveiled their technique Friday to make use of synthetic intelligence in sports activities, becoming a member of the worldwide rush to capitalize on the quickly advancing know-how.
The Worldwide Olympic Committee outlined its agenda for benefiting from AI. Officers mentioned it may very well be used to assist establish promising athletes, personalize coaching strategies and make the video games fairer by enhancing judging.
“Right this moment we’re making one other step to make sure the individuality of the Olympic Video games and the relevance of sport. To do that, we’ve got to be leaders of change,” IOC President Thomas Bach mentioned at a press occasion within the velodrome on the Olympic Park in London, which hosted the summer season video games in 2012.
“We’re decided to take advantage of the huge potential of AI in a accountable method,” Bach mentioned.
The IOC revealed its AI grasp plan because it gears as much as maintain the Paris Olympics, that are set to kick off in just below 100 days.
The IOC’s AI plans additionally embrace utilizing the know-how to guard athletes from on-line harassment and to assist broadcasters enhance the viewing expertise for individuals watching from house. The IOC earns billions of {dollars} by the sale of broadcast rights for the video games.
Some AI tasks shall be rolled out on the Paris video games and the IOC has arrange a working group on the know-how to additional drive its adoption in sport, Bach mentioned, with out being extra particular.
The native organizers of the Paris video games have sparked controversy with their plans to make use of synthetic intelligence for safety, with a video surveillance system that features AI-powered cameras to flag potential safety dangers similar to deserted packages or crowd surges. Digital watchdog teams concern {that a} proposal to legalize sensible surveillance methods, even when solely briefly, will infringe on privateness, although the French authorities insists the methods gained’t use facial recognition know-how.
Requested in regards to the issues, Bach advised reporters it’s as much as the authorities within the host nation, not the IOC, to resolve on ”the perfect instruments to use to safe the video games.”
“What we’ve got seen from the French authorities and from the authorities is that the efforts to make sure safety in Paris are actually, on a really large scope, very skilled. So we’ve got all confidence within the French authorities,” he mentioned.
Skier Lindsey Vonn mentioned she was envious of the AI-powered instruments that weren’t accessible when she was beginning out.
Vonn mentioned again within the day she took notes by hand in her efficiency diary on how completely different skis, boots and the temperature affected her efficiency. These days, tablets are used to immediately crunch way more knowledge, in addition to give a side-by-side video comparability of the perfect racing line. AI can supercharge these analytical instruments, she mentioned.
“It’s not changing athletes, it’s not changing teaching. However I feel it’s simply one other software that can be utilized in a constructive technique to carry out higher,” Vonn mentioned.
The IOC has partnered with Intel to scout out potential athletes in neglected locations. The tech firm took its tools to Senegal, the place they visited 5 villages and analyzed the athletic means of a thousand kids, by measuring how excessive they may leap and how briskly they may react.
Utilizing AI to investigate the outcomes, “we discovered 40 which can be actually promising,” mentioned Christoph Schell, Intel’s chief industrial officer.
The shortlisted children’ outcomes have been then run by an algorithm that really useful what sports activities they’d be good at, he mentioned.
Olympic officers are additionally conscious of AI dangers. Bach warned in opposition to permitting machines to be the final word arbiter of a younger athlete’s profession. Somebody who’s a “nice athlete in wrestling should nonetheless have the prospect to play tennis and can’t be sorted out” by the algorithms, he mentioned.
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AP videojournalist Kwiyeon Ha contributed to this report.