SPORT WILL NEVER BE THE SAME: How Artificial Intelligence is Changing the Olympic Games
Photo source: ironpinoy.com
The Summer Olympics 2024 are unique! For the first time in sports history, artificial intelligence is having such a widespread impact on a major sporting event. This influence is present on multiple levels, from athlete training to competition broadcasting.
SPORT AND SCIENCE GO HAND IN HAND!
Few things invented by humans can compare with the longevity of the Olympic Games. Starting as far back as the 8th century BC, they have long attracted not only the general public’s attention but also that of innovators.
In recent decades, there has been a real scientific boom: research has intensified in areas such as the selection of Olympic venues, environmental issues, and the Games’ ability to motivate people to engage in sports.
For instance, unique experiments were conducted to control air pollution during the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The London Olympics in 2012 drew scientists’ attention to a wide range of topics, from urban development to issues of public control and security.
The leading fields in Olympic-related research are social sciences, medicine, and engineering. Among these, there are many unexpected studies, such as research on how the number of medals won affects national pride.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE GOES OLYMPIC
When it comes to the sheer number of research studies, the leaders are naturally the countries recognized worldwide as scientific powerhouses. However, you might be surprised to learn that Greece leads in the proportion of publications dedicated to the Olympic Games.
This small country, whose scientific potential is different from that of the United States, China, or Germany, considers it quite natural, as the Greeks are the originators of the Olympic idea. France, the host country for the 2024 Olympics, has also added its own scientific and technological surprise.
These Olympics are the first to integrate AI technologies into their organization. It’s worth noting that the last Summer Games were held in Tokyo in 2021, a time when concepts like LLM or ChatGPT were not widely known. However, in just a few years, AI developers have made such advancements that it has become only possible to manage the Paris Games with them.
THE FIRST OLYMPIC CHATBOT
Over 10,000 athletes from 200 countries have gathered in Paris for the Summer Olympics. For the first time in history, they will not be welcomed, guided, or advised by a human. A new guide in the Olympic world has emerged — artificial intelligence.
This depersonalized, unfamiliar, yet friendly voice will assist thousands of guests and participants at the Games. «How do I get to the sports venue?», «Can I stream the opening ceremony?», «Will a computer judge my events?», «Where can I get gifts from sponsors?» — these are just a few of the questions athletes can ask AthleteGPT, a large language model.
Specifically developed for the 2024 Olympics by the Parisian company Mistral AI, AthleteGPT is based on AI and Intel Gaudi processors. The creators of the chatbot, accessible through the Athlete365 mobile app, claim it can swiftly browse through thousands of informational pages and is ready to answer any questions 24/7.
IOC LEGITIMIZES AI IN SPORTS
However, AthleteGPT is one of many ways AI is making its mark on the Olympics. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has officially recognized this technology as permissible. In April of this year, the IOC presented the principles of its AI policy to the public.
This policy aims to regulate the rapid growth in the use of AI in sports research and develop a strategy for its application in Olympic competitions.
ÉTIENNE-JULES MAREY: HE UNITED SCIENCE AND SPORTS
In 1900, Paris hosted the Olympic Games for the first time. It was then that the French scientist Étienne-Jules Marey first proposed using advanced technology to study how athletes move. He employed high-speed chronophotography, a technique involving a camera with photo plates fed at rapid-fire speed for the quickest possible frame capture.
Through this method, Marey was able to capture the frame-by-frame movements of sprinters and long jumpers. Using the data obtained, he analyzed the body’s biomechanics. He briefly stated the goal of his experiment: «To discover the secret of some athletes’ superiority».
Since Marey «wed» science and sports, advanced technology has become the primary tool through which people attempt to unlock the secrets of athletic success.
A NEW LEVEL OF COMPETITION — NEW RECORDS
Today, not only scientists but also ordinary people can achieve much more than Marey did. All it takes is recording people’s movements during competitions on a smartphone. But AI has taken our capabilities to an entirely new level.
Today, we have access to 3DAT technologies. This AI-based 3D tracking system, developed by Intel, can monitor 21 points on the human body simultaneously.
It captures the nuances of physical movement with extreme precision and provides coaches with all the biomechanical data they are interested in. Naturally, all these metrics are compared with those demonstrated by the most outstanding athletes.
In this way, AI technologies stimulate athletes’ self-improvement, competition among them, and new records.
SPORTS STRATEGIES: CAN’T DO WITHOUT AI!
AI technologies can be utilized in various areas to enhance athletes’ performance. For example, they can be used to design and manufacture customized sports footwear and clothing or to determine the optimal nutrition plans and training schedules.
All of this leads to coaches and athletes discovering new, previously unavailable strategies in sports. A historical example of such a fundamental change is the «Fosbury Flop» — the now-dominant high jump technique first used by American athlete Dick Fosbury at the 1968 Olympics.
AI HELPS IN TALENT SCOUTING
AI makes it easy for coaches to collect and analyze individual data, helping them better identify talents. In March, the IOC launched a scouting program in Senegal using 3DAT technology. Analyzing simple exercises like running and jumping identified over 40 children as potential future Olympic athletes. However, the case with Senegal is more of an exception than the rule.
Developed countries with major professional leagues still maintain a significant advantage in modern sports, as they have all the resources needed to collect high-quality data and train algorithms accordingly.
THE ASTRONOMER WHO BECAME A REFEREE
The ability to collect and analyze large datasets expands the potential for using AI in areas such as refereeing. Meet Frank Ome, a water polo referee at the Olympic Games. Frank is no stranger to AI, as his primary job is as an astrophysicist at the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics in Hannover.
Among the array of noises created by gravitational waves, he searches for signals resulting from black hole collisions, sometimes using AI to assist him. Artificial intelligence may remain his reliable assistant even when dressed in a white referee uniform; he determines whether the ball has crossed the goal line.
A REVOLUTION IN REFEREEING
Today, such technologies are commonplace. For example, during football matches, information is recorded by an array of cameras around the stadium, and chips implanted in the ball are even used. However, football is arguably the most spectacular modern sport and is more of an exception than the rule.
In other sports and their refereeing, AI is likely to penetrate more slowly, as each sport has its own specific needs and varying levels of funding. The Olympic Games in Paris include 32 events, including water polo.
Water polo is the oldest Olympic team sport, but basketball or football generates less revenue than it is. Funding will be necessary, as the use of AI in water polo will bring additional challenges, such as training algorithms on images captured underwater and in chaotic scenarios.
MORE EFFICIENT COMMUNICATION
Accurate and transparent communication plays a crucial role. The best way to convince teams and spectators of the fairness and objectivity of decisions is to provide them with all the visual information, allowing them to form an accurate understanding of what is happening.
For example, fouls in contact sports are often ambiguous. The referee decides in a split second, and not everyone may agree with it. However, for AI, making a correct, universally understandable decision is a feasible task.
SPORTS MEDIA ON THE BRINK OF CHANGE
The data streams collected during the games will enrich not only artificial intelligence algorithms but also TV viewers eager for statistics. Sport is a unique language that transcends racial, cultural, and economic barriers.
Statistics and numbers enhance human communication, providing additional points of reference. Naturally, corporations specializing in sports broadcasting cannot ignore these incredible opportunities. They are looking for ways to expand their informational scope and bring it to television screens.
In 2000, during the Sydney Olympic Games, viewers were thrilled when a virtual world record line was overlaid on the screen. By 2024, broadcasting capabilities have greatly expanded. For example, they can separately display acceleration, stride length, and maximum speed.
INCREDIBLE VIEWER OPPORTUNITIES
Today, through Intel’s Geti AI computer vision platform, viewers already have access to personalized highlights of competitions. This feature is likely to become a regular part of future broadcasts.
Experts believe that AI’s ability to sift through simultaneous recordings of various sports actions and select precisely what the viewer wants to see will be a game-changer. If someone wants to see every three-point shot made by the Nigerian men’s basketball team, AI can scan all the footage and compile it automatically.
This will be especially beneficial for coaches and media professionals in countries with limited financial and informational resources.
Original research: Three ways AI is changing the 2024 Olympics for athletes and fans
