AI ‘changing the world’ but cannot replicate the magic on the field, says industry expert
Developments in the area have improved fan interaction, betting and viewer experience but sport’s human factor ‘cannot be equalled’
Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing the landscape of sports for both organisations and fans behind the scenes, but it will never be able to duplicate what makes it so special on the track or court, Sportradar boss Behshad Behzadi has said.
AI has been a hot topic for a number of years and its impact has been a driving force in bringing fans an improved experience both at home and from the stands.
Though the primary focus for many companies is on improving efficiency and content output, this benefit trickles down to fans in the form of improved prematch statistics, real-time data and fan interaction.
The collection of that data has become a much more streamlined process and Behzadi, the firm’s chief product, technology and AI officer, was in no doubt that it was one of the areas where AI has really excelled.
“It’s no surprise to anyone but AI is changing the world. It’s everywhere and talked about at every major conference,” Behzadi said. “The two emerging trends are in productivity and efficiency, and new value creation.”
“For Sportradar, we have been using AI across a range of products for many years, for the collection of detailed sports data using computer vision. We cover more than a million games a year and more than half of them are fully AI.