AI in the 2024 Paris Olympics
AI will be in the 2024 Paris Olympics but it will not be competing in any sporting event with humans, although we want to see one someday, it will be hosting social media policing to athlete training to broadcasting. The Olympic Games Paris 2024 and Paralympics will be the most technologically-influenced event ever. International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach announced in London "Today, we are making another step to ensure the uniqueness of the Olympic Games, and the relevance of sport - and to do this, we have to be leaders of change, and not the object of change," at the IOC AI Agenda launch event. The ever accelerating development of digital technology it would be the first such occasion where an overall strategy for the usage of AI at a major sporting event has been created.
Bach was keen to note that the sporting world fortunately does not really have to confront what he called, "the existential question" facing other sectors of society of whether AI will replace human roles, noting, "in sport, the performance will always have to be delivered by the athlete."
Intel is continuing to be a pivotal force in advancing AI capabilities as a global partner for the IOC. They're collaborating with organizers to enhance the fan experience worldwide.
This involves introducing an immersive sports experience at several Olympic venues in Paris, allowing fans to discover which Olympic athlete their performance aligns with. Utilizing AI applications trained on Intel's Gaudi accelerators and operated on the company's Xeon processors with integrated AI acceleration, such as Intel's OpenVINO and AI Platform Experience, fans can witness how technology and AI can support athletes striving for peak performance. The company is also contributing to the preservation and ongoing legacy of the Olympic Games by converting archive videos into 3D digital artifacts available for fans of all ages at the Olympic Museum. Leveraging a solution from Intel’s Emergent AI Lab, videos are transformed using neural object cloning, providing fans with an immersive "hands-on" experience.
Additionally, Intel hardware will be instrumental in supporting the IOC's broadcasting efforts. Xeon-powered broadcast servers will encode and compress the live TV signal at 8K/60FPS/HDR within milliseconds. This high-quality feed can then be distributed globally in seconds, enabling livestreaming at an unprecedented level of quality.
Bach acknowledged that while technology presents both opportunities and risks, the IOC is committed to fully embracing the potential of AI. He emphasized, "We are resolute in harnessing the extensive capabilities of AI."
Concluding, Bach expressed the IOC's aspiration to shape the future of sports AI with conscientious leadership, embracing transformation while upholding Olympic values.
But will this stop the pervasive mode of cheating in any sporting event? The use of performance enhancing drugs? The OIC did not mention any AI assisted tool to detect whether an athlete used any kind of performance enhancing drug, even though right now at Olympic qualifying sports events there were athletes caught using such drugs, and they are allowed to continue playing and what's worse is they winning their events which is ironic. I really hope IOC will come up with AI tools to stop this and ban athletes caught using enhancing performance drugs before and during competition.
Source
https://www.techradar.com/pro/the-olympic-games-paris-2024-will-feature-more-ai-power-than-ever-with-intel-helping-lead-the-way
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