The 2024 Olympic Games are over. It turns out that this year’s Olympics were unique not only because of the introduction of several new sports (such as breakdancing), but also the very frequent use of artificial intelligence technology. Although AI at the Olympic Games is primarily about perfect measurement of athletes’ results, the future may bring a completely new use of AI technology.
Technology at the Service of Athletes, or AI at the Olympic Games
The common path of technology and sports has been going on for a long time. The latest technologies allow not only for broadcasting athletes’ competitions for fans around the world to see, but above all for fair evaluation of results. In the case of the Olympic Games, such precise evaluation is all the more important because athletes are often separated from gold medals by hundredths of a second or millimeters. AI at the Olympic Games is nothing new, but the number of applications of this technology in Paris exceeded all previous Olympics.
One of the main suppliers of AI solutions was, among others, Intel, which has been working on technologies that can change the face of sports for years. An example is 3D Athlete Tracking, developed since 2017, which analyzes athletes’ movements based on video recordings, helping to improve results and rehabilitation. The system tracks thousands of biomechanical points, which allows for a detailed analysis of athletes’ performance. This technology was visible at the Tokyo Games, where it presented the acceleration and maximum speed of runners in real time. AI at the Olympic Games is therefore starting to play an increasingly important role.
AI at the Olympic Games supports communication and security
During the Paris 2024 Games, Intel introduced an innovative chatbot, AthleteGPT, designed to help athletes obtain information in multiple languages. The goal was to facilitate movement around the venues and provide necessary support to athletes. The chatbot used Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) technology and ran on Intel Gaudi accelerators and Xeon processors, enabling rapid response to questions.
It is worth adding that Samsung has also been very involved in promoting AI solutions at the Olympic Games. The Korean technology giant gave the athletes the latest model of its foldable smartphone Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6 Paris 2024 Olympic Edition. This phone was given to almost 17,000 athletes taking part in the Olympics and Paralympics. The Galaxy Z Flip6 has a number of services based on generative artificial intelligence, or Galaxy AI.
Artificial Intelligence at the Service of Viewers and Safety
AI also played a key role in the live coverage of the Games, enabling viewers around the world to follow the action in 8K resolution with Intel Xeon processors. Intel also supported Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) in automatically generating personalized video content, significantly increasing the efficiency of content production.
In addition, AI was used at the Olympic Games to enhance security at the Paris event. France, in partnership with Videtics and Orange Business, implemented AI-based surveillance systems that monitored crowds and identified threats. However, the controversial regulations enabling such broad surveillance have sparked discussions about compliance with biometric data protection regulations.
Interestingly, all this happened during the entry into force of the AI Act regulation, which categorically prohibits the use of AI systems to track and spy on citizens. Will the next Olympic Games use AI systems to detect potential threats again? There are many indications that this will be the case, as the 2028 Summer Olympics will be held in Los Angeles. The AI Act is a regulation that applies only to European Union countries, and in the United States there are currently no relevant regulations regarding the security of AI systems.
What impact will AI have on the future of the Olympic Games?
In the coming years, we can expect AI to be increasingly integrated into the organization and conduct of the Olympic Games. This technology not only makes it easier for athletes to perfectly measure their performance, but also ensures greater safety for participants and spectators, although unfortunately this requires extensive surveillance of spectators and fans of sports competitions of athletes from around the world.
The Paris 2024 Games were a true testing ground for modern technologies that could revolutionize the way we perceive and experience the world’s biggest sporting events. What will the future bring? We will find out in four years during the Olympic Games in Los Angeles. One thing is certain – the involvement of AI technology will certainly be greater then than during the Paris Olympics.
