AI at the 2024 Paris Olympics

Summary: The 2024 Paris Olympics have begun! These games are set to be a landmark event in the integration of artificial intelligence into competitive sports. From enhancing athlete performance to revolutionizing the viewer experience, AI is playing a pivotal role in shaping the future of the Olympic Games. This article explores the key areas where AI is making its mark, including training, judging, broadcasting, and security.

As the world's eyes turn to Paris for the 2024 Olympic Games, a quiet revolution is unfolding behind the scenes. 15 technology partners comprising over 2,000 experts, are working to make the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024 fully connected, secure and digitally enabled.¹

At the core of this operation, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming the Olympic experience, touching every aspect of the games from how athletes train to how fans engage with the events. This is not happening by chance. It's part of a carefully crafted strategy: the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) Olympic AI Agenda.²

An Olympic AI Agenda

Launched in response to the rapidly accelerating development of digital technology, the Olympic AI Agenda represents the IOC's commitment to embracing the potential of AI while preserving the core values of the Olympic movement. As IOC President Thomas Bach stated, "Our continued success depends on how we embrace the ever-accelerating development of digital technology, and in particular Artificial Intelligence. This makes our Olympic Agenda 2020 imperative 'change or be changed' even more urgent."

The Olympic AI Agenda is built on five guiding principles: 

1. Fostering an ethos of integrity, 

2. Improving access and fairness, 

3. Scaling the creation and distribution of moments that matter, 

4. Honoring traditions while embracing innovation, and,

5. Collaborating for shared impact. 

These principles aim to ensure that AI is used responsibly and ethically within the Olympic ecosystem, fostering trust while harnessing the power of this transformative technology.

At the 2024 Paris Olympics, we're seeing the first full-scale implementation of this AI strategy across five key focus areas: supporting athletes, clean competition and safe sport; ensuring equal access to the benefits of AI; optimizing Olympic and Paralympic Games operations with a focus on sustainability; growing engagement with people; and driving efficiency across the management of the IOC and sport.

The IOC's vision, as stated in their AI Agenda, is "to inspire and accelerate change across global sport by embracing the potential of Artificial Intelligence to advance fairness, excellence, solidarity and the Olympic experience." This ambitious goal is being realized through various initiatives at the Paris Games, from AI-assisted training programs to advanced broadcasting technologies that offer viewers unprecedented insights into athletic performance.

As we explore how AI is reshaping the Olympic experience, it's important to remember that these advancements are not happening in isolation. They are part of a broader strategy to ensure that the Olympic Games remain at the forefront of sporting excellence and technological innovation, all while staying true to the values that have made the Olympics a global phenomenon for over a century.

It's game time!

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has embraced AI technology to enhance the accuracy, fairness, and viewer experience across various sports. This shift towards AI integration is part of a broader trend in the sports world. According to Deloitte's research, the sports analytics industry reached nearly $4 billion in 2023, as stakeholders harnessed data to improve athletes' performance and connect with fans.³

Here's how AI is being used in the 2024 Olympic games:

1. Enhancing athlete performance

One of the most significant impacts of AI at the Olympics is in athlete training and performance optimization. Wearable sensors, smart equipment, and advanced cameras now collect vast amounts of data on athletes' movements, biometrics, and performance metrics. This data is then analyzed using AI algorithms to provide insights that were previously impossible to obtain.

At the 2024 Paris Olympics, we're seeing the fruits of years of technological development. Male and female athletes from various countries, competing in a wide range of sports from running to skateboarding, have benefited from personalized training strategies developed by AI tools. These systems use data points from sensors and smart wearables to measure heart rate, lung capacity, movement patterns, and other vital metrics to create tailored solutions for training, rest, and nutrition.

Some specific examples of AI-powered training tools include:

1. Digital twin technology: This creates virtual replicas of stadiums to help athletes mentally prepare for races.

2. Radar technology: Developed by a Danish sports technology company, this device helps analyze hits and pitches for baseball teams.

3. Biomechanical analysis: In real-time AI-powered cameras can calculate athlete’s precise movements in training and competition, across different sports. This allows coaching teams to identify weaknesses and areas for improvement.

AI has also enabled more sophisticated physical tests of athletes to detect early signs of fatigue or stress-induced injuries, serving as a predictive tool to keep athletes safe from future injuries.

2. AI as judge

Perhaps one of the most visible applications of AI at the 2024 Olympics is in judging and scoring, particularly in sports where human judgment has traditionally played a significant role. Gymnastics, in particular, has been at the forefront of this technological adoption.

The International Gymnastics Federation (IGF) has introduced a new Judging Support System (JSS) that uses AI to capture and evaluate gymnasts' movements based on the sport's rulebook. This system, which proved successful in recent world championships, is making its Olympic debut in Paris. The JSS can analyze movements too intricate for the human eye, enabling more accurate scoring, free from human error or bias.

But it's not just gymnastics benefiting from AI-assisted judging. OMEGA, the Official Timekeeper of the Olympics, is working with the Games to leverage AI for providing faster, more relevant, and insightful data across multiple events. For instance, in diving, athletics, and artistic gymnastics, a technology called intelligent stroboscopic analysis is being used to help viewers better understand athletes' movements and biomechanics.

In diving specifically, OBS and OMEGA are using AI to generate enhanced data graphics, providing a new set of data on each athlete's performance in the air and when entering the water. This level of detail was previously impossible to capture with the human eye alone.

3. Enhancing the viewer experience

The integration of AI into the Olympics isn't just changing things for the athletes and judges – it's improving how fans experience the games. With an expected global audience in the billions and 11,000 hours of unique footage, broadcasters are leveraging AI to create more tailored, engaging and informative coverage.

One standout example is the AI-powered 3D Athlete Tracking (3DAT) technology. This system uses cameras with artificial intelligence and computer vision to show fans near real-time data during races. It provides biomechanical analysis of things like athlete speed, who is in the lead, and distance traveled/distance remaining. This information is displayed on screen during the race and during replays using overlays, giving viewers unprecedented insight into the mechanics of elite athletic performance.

Other AI-powered innovations in broadcasting include:

1. Computer-vision cameras providing near real-time stats about athletes' performance.

2. Neural network powered 3D modeling of athlete motions, allowing viewers to see sports from angles they've never been able to before (see video below).

3. Advanced timekeeping, scoring, motion sensors, and positioning systems that feed data directly to broadcasters for use in commentaries and on-screen graphics.

4. On the ground in Paris, fans benefit from an AI-powered activation to take spectators on a journey of becoming an Olympic athlete.

5. The least impressive looking piece of equipment, the bib, contains technology that continuously relays the position of an athlete to tracking systems. This is how we know how fast athletes are moving, and who's gaining ground in track running, mountain biking, and other events.

These technologies are not only enhancing the viewing experience but also providing a wealth of data for sports analysts, coaches, and athletes to study and learn from.

4. AI in operations

While much of the focus is on how AI is changing the competition and viewing experience, it's also playing a crucial role in the operational aspects of the Games. From logistics to security, AI is helping to make the Olympics run more smoothly and safely.

Some examples of AI in Olympic operations include:

1. Crowd management: AI systems are being used to assist with crowd management and smart ticketing.

2. Incident detection: While AI isn’t normally permitted in French surveillance, a new law allows the use of AI security in large-scale events like the Olympics. Specifically, AI can be used to identify the presence of weapons, signs of fire, abandoned objects, and other abnormal risks.

3. Athlete support: Olympic hopefuls are being encouraged to use the IOC's chatbot, which can answer their questions about events, timings, rules, and other key information.

5. Monetization and advertising

The Olympics is not just a sporting event; it's also a lucrative business opportunity. Alibaba Cloud is supporting the Olympic Broadcasting Services as they prepare to produce a record-breaking 11,000 hours of Olympic Games footage, repackaged and distributed globally in over half a million hour of content.

Advertisers are using AI tools to boost viewership and maximize the impact of their messaging. For instance, NBCUniversal has applied machine learning to analyze hundreds of ads from previous Olympics to advise advertisers on which creative elements are most crucial for capturing viewer attention.

AI is also being used to gather insights on audience sentiments through natural language processing of speech and text. This information is then processed by machine learning systems to create forecast models and automate processes related to the fan experience and broadcasting.

Looking to the future

As we look beyond the 2024 Paris Olympics and towards LA 2028, it's clear that AI will continue to play an increasingly important role in the Games. Future Olympics are likely to see even more advanced applications of AI, from more sophisticated training tools to immersive, AI-driven viewing experiences using augmented and virtual reality.

However, as AI becomes more prevalent in the Olympics, it also raises important questions that the IOC and other stakeholders will need to address:

1. Fairness and accessibility: How can we ensure that AI-powered training tools don't create an unfair advantage for athletes from wealthier countries?

2. Data privacy and security: With the increasing collection of athlete data, how can we protect individuals' privacy and secure sensitive information?

3. The human element: As AI takes on a larger role in judging and scoring, how do we maintain the human element that has always been a part of the Olympic spirit?

4. Ethical considerations: How do we ensure that AI systems used in the Olympics are transparent, unbiased, and aligned with the values of fair play and sportsmanship?

As we continue to watch the incredible performances at the 2024 Paris Olympics, it's worth remembering that we're not just witnessing the pinnacle of human athletic achievement – we're also seeing the future of sports technology unfold before our eyes. The integration of AI into the Olympic Games represents a new frontier in sports, one that promises to make the games fairer, more exciting, and more insightful than ever before. Let's see.

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If you want support in adopting AI responsibly, building a next-generation product, developing an AI strategy, or just want to learn more, get in touch. 

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