AI in Sports Sparks Row

With Artificial Intelli-gence (AI) making inroads in every aspect of our lives, who would have thought that AI would muscle its way into the world of sports too? The Inter-national Olympic Committee (IOC) is determined to use AI in the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games that will be held from July 26 to August 11, 2024 in France.

IOC officials are keen on using AI to help identify promising athletes, personalise training methods, and make the Games fairer by improving judging, but many athletes and coaches have mixed views about AI in sports. The local organizers of the 2024 Summer Olympics (French: Jeux olympiques d'été de 2024) have already stoked a row with their plans to use AI for security arrangements.

Mixed Views

In a perplexed tone, Dutee Chand, India’s professional sprinter and current national champion of the 100-meter category asks, “AI, woh kya hota hai? (AI, what’s that?).” For someone who has known the world of sports closely, Dutee finds it quite bemusing to accept that the Olympics is really in need of AI. She prefers to go the “natural way.” She reflects on moments when legends like Milkha Singh made the country proud minus AI. Dutee says, “I really do not see the need for the incorporation of AI into sports. I strongly believe we as athletes need to delve into our natural strengths. Our priority should always be to make our Nation proud, what else could we ever want?” She feels that AI and technology could always help in bits and pieces. “But this feels like the IOC is in a way trying to ‘commercialize’ sports. Is there really a need for AI here? Also, by putting forth this on its agenda, every country in their need to keep up with the IOC would in a way be obliged to adhere,” Dutee says, adding, “All I want is that the area of sports should remain natural.”

However, welcoming the IOC agenda with its various possibilities, Vernon Lobo, treasurer of the Mumbai Hockey Association says, “AI would be able to identify an athletes’ talent provided they have adequate data provided by athletes.” Lobo vehemently adds, “This should be a fair process however selectors would yet have the final say here.” He does not think of any disadvantages of AI in sports. “How could there be disadvantages? Wouldn’t this give selectors better insights into the strengths and weaknesses of athletes? “I truly believe the IOC is trying to help its members make better athletes for the future of the Olympics, and this would make competition far more interesting.”

Futuristic Approach

While the Olympics doesn’t have cricket on its list yet, sports enthusiasts and coaches believe that AI will soon be futuristic and productive for the world of sports at large. Shedding light on the same, Karunashankar Tiwari, a cricket coach and player says, “At present it's an aspirational idea to have an AI tool that could not just identify sporting talent but also differentiate one athlete from another based on their skills, level of preparedness and temperament. However, the sheer volume of athletes spread across various continents makes such data collection an impossible task.”

Tiwari says that AI tools are already being used in various sports around the world. “Games like Cricket that don't feature in the Olympics yet, have started using AI tools for developing templates for their opponents. This then proves to be a fantastic innovation.” He goes a step forward to explain how AI could anticipate a variety of scenarios. He believes that this would then make it possible for athletes to respond better to their opponents or competition by having ‘counter plans’ ready for attack.

The incorporation of AI into sports could also pave the way for scenarios such as the lack of human touch, data privacy concerns, and expertise required in both AI and sports to name a few.

Expressing similar concerns, Tiwari says, “Lack of human interpretation could be an issue. Can AI replace a coach or strategists from the sport, the answer is NO. AI will only work with data that’s fed into its system. It cannot possibly predict how the player might improvise in the real world (during a game).” Tiwari adds, “AI is the future. Any world organisation that hasn’t jumped onto the AI bandwagon yet is like an Ostrich that has buried its head in the sand.”

The future of sports, underpinned by the application of AI could seem promising and brewing with possibilities for now. However, a dive into this huge realm would require careful navigation. While the IOC has quite promisingly introduced AI in its agenda, only the next few years would bear testament to how well the world of sports adapts itself to the many transformative changes AI has in store.

I really do not see the need for the incorporation of AI into sports. All I want is that the area of sports should remain natural” — Dutee Chand, professional sprinter, current national champion (100-m race)

AI is the future. Any world organisation that hasn’t jumped onto the AI bandwagon yet is like an ostrich that has buried its head in the sand.” —Karunashankar Tiwari, cricket coach and player

AI would be able to identify an athletes’ talent provided they have adequate data provided by athletes.” — Vernon Lobo, treasurer, Mumbai Hockey Association