The 2024 Paris Olympics have been a groundbreaking event, not just for athletes but also for technology enthusiasts. Google's partnership with NBCUniversal and Team USA made AI a part of their main strategy, transforming the way we consume sports. This merger combines Google’s Gemini AI and other technologies in broadcasting, online, and social media that revolutionize the way we engage with the Games, setting a new standard for interactive experiences.
Sports Simplified with AI Overviews
Many viewers find themselves captivated by sports they know little about. AI-powered overviews can bridge this gap, providing real-time explanations and insights to help viewers understand complex rules and nuances.
AI Overviews are AI-created summaries of particular subjects that are delivered in a simplified manner. When it comes to the Olympics, they give brief and exhaustive information about specific sports, their regulations, tendencies, and important events. This feature enhances the viewing experience by extending the sports audience to the masses. After all, enhancing user experience is one of the primary goals of AI, and this application demonstrates its potential to transform how we consume sports content.
Here’s an example of how this kind of research works:
Bringing Olympic Venues to Life with 3D Mapping Technology
The 2024 Paris Olympics feature 45 events spanning Paris, France, and even Tahiti. With competitions dispersed across vast distances, from the iconic Eiffel Tower Stadium to the exotic surf breaks of Tahiti, broadcasters faced a unique challenge: delivering a cohesive and engaging viewing experience.
To overcome this problem, NBC Sports found a game-changing solution. They leveraged the power of Google Maps' Photorealistic 3D Tiles and Cesium for Unreal to create a groundbreaking visual experience. This innovative approach transported viewers beyond the traditional confines of the television screen, immersing them in the heart of the Olympic action.
As Wade Echer, the mastermind behind NBC Sports' on-air graphics, put it, “Cesium made it easy for our team to manipulate Google’s Photorealistic 3D Tiles, building projects that showcase the real-world data to viewers without needing to devote additional resources to acquiring the data. The platform’s speed and quality fit right into our workflow, allowing us to focus on creating compelling visual stories.”
Protecting Athletes and Enhancing Performance
Beyond enhancing the fan experience, AI is playing a crucial role in safeguarding athletes and optimizing Olympic operations. The International Olympic Committee has implemented an AI-powered monitoring system to combat online abuse. This system scans social media platforms to identify harmful content, allowing for quick intervention and protection of athletes. These behind-the-scenes applications of AI demonstrate the technology's potential to transform the Olympics into a safer, more sustainable, and athlete-centric event.
AI’s Limitations: Why Haven’t We Reached Our Full Potential?
These innovations are quiet remarkable, but at the same time, we get the feeling that Google and NBC could have gone even further. Perhaps the hesitation to fully embrace AI comes from from a collective apprehension surrounding artificial intelligence. There's a fear that AI is likely to take over human positions, including the ordinary ones such as sports broadcasting.
Another reason for using a relatively small amount of information is the limitations of the data. AI's potential is boundless in theory, but in practice, it is often held back by the realities of data requirements and mathematical complexities. The dream of AI-enhanced experiences requires a large amount of high-quality structured data that is not available yet.
It's clear that to truly revolutionize the viewer experience, we'll need to explore more data acquisition methods. Simulation, rather than traditional data collection, might be the key to unlocking AI's full potential in this space.
How BetterEngineer Can Help Your Business Innovate with AI
The inventions presented at the 2024 Paris Olympics are proof of the transformative power of AI and technology. If your business is looking to explore more AI efforts, BetterEngineer can help. Our AI Readiness Assessment service offers expert guidance and strategic advice tailored to your needs, helping you seamlessly integrate AI into your operations. With our AI Assessment, we provide a complete evaluation of your current capabilities and opportunities for improvement, ensuring you mitigate risks and stay ahead of your competitors.
The AI innovations in the 2024 Paris Olympics reveal how technology can change the way we watch sports. AI Overviews are particularly helpful in providing real-time information, while 3D mapping technology improves the visual experience of the show. There are still other areas that can be developed, for instance, athlete-specific information and virtual and augmented reality-based engaging experiences.
The hesitation to fully embrace AI may derive from the fear of the unknown and the significant challenges we should overcome in terms of AI data. By dealing with these issues, we will be able to present more sophisticated and detailed viewing experiences, changing the way we interact with sports.
If you’re a business seeking to leverage your AI’s potential, BetterEngineer offers the expertise and tools to assist you. Contact us today to learn more about our Technology Council and AI Readiness Assessment services and discover how we can help you lead the way in technological innovation.
