July 16, 2024 • 27 mins
The Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024 will be different from all its predecessor, thanks to new technology that will help make it the smartest Olympic Games yet. Featuring discussions with Intel’s Sarah Vickers and the Chief Information Technology Officer at the International Olympic Committee Ilario Corna. This episode offers an in-depth look at what happens when the world’s most innovative minds join forces with the world’s greatest athletes in the quest for gold, and how Intel AI Platforms and advanced data analytics will help revolutionize the experience of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in the stadium and at home.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
Worldwide sporting events like the FIFA World Cup and the
Olympic and Paralympic Games have been some of the world's
most unifying events for more than a century, during the
attention of spectators and enthusiasts from around the globe to
watch the greatest athletes of our time compete for a
place in history. The Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris twenty
(00:27):
twenty four will be different from all the rest thanks
to new technology that will help make it the smartest
Olympic Games yet. How can Intel AI platforms and advanced
data analytics revolutionize the experience of the Olympic and Paralympic
Games in the stadium and at home. Join us as
we learn more about what happens when the world's most
(00:48):
innovative minds join forces with the world's greatest athletes in
the quest for gold. Welcome to Technically Speaking, an Intel
podcast produced by Media's Ruby Studio in partnership with Intel.
In every episode, we explore how AI innovations are changing
the world and revolutionizing the way we live. Hey, there,
(01:11):
I'm grame class. Today. In our final episode of season two,
we are exploring the role AI platform technology will play
in the upcoming Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris twenty twenty four,
both for the athletes and for the fans. To discuss
the topic further, we're joined by Alario Korne, the Chief
(01:32):
Information Technology Officer at the International Olympic Committee for the IOC.
Alaria has served in his current role since twenty twenty,
and he's tasked with leading all IT strategy and operations
for the IOC and ensuring the delivery of cutting edge
technology solutions for the Olympic Games.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
Welcome Malario, Thank you very much, Graham, great to be here.
Speaker 1 (01:51):
We're also joined by Sarah Vickers, head of Intel's Olympic
and Paralympic Games program. Sarah joined Intel in twenty fifteen
and has been working on Intel's partnership with the IOC
since twenty seventeen. Welcome to you too, Sarah.
Speaker 3 (02:05):
It's great to be here.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
I want to start and go back to Tokyo twenty twenty,
where a lot of us would remember the one thy
eight hundred Intel Premium drones during the opening ceremony before
we discuss what to expect in this year's Olympic and
Paralympic Games. What's the one technological innovation that sticks out
for you over the past few editions of the Olympic Games.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
I will say, for me, it is exactly what you say.
The drones. I still remember this day. I was actually
on the field of play in the Olympic stadiums and
seeing them come up with something amazing. Even though during
the Olympic Games we always have seen technology innovations and
really things new and everybody saw before the last innovation
(02:55):
that we had seen in Japan was actually the satellites
and to use broadcasting live feeds. So innovation has been
always at the core of the Olympic Games, and anything new,
I will say is wait and see and you will
be odd for what you will see.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
Sarah, I have got you any lasting memories from previous
Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
I think what I'd say is we're really proud of
our progress over time, especially when it comes to artificial
intelligent platforms. When we started in twenty seventeen, we really
were just demonstrating what was possible, and now we are
delivering solutions and we've been doing that through helping demonstrate data.
(03:37):
We did a big thing with artificial intelligent platforms in
the Olympic Winter Games Beijing twenty twenty two. So, like
Lario said, I think the ceremonies are a closely kept secret,
but I'm really excited to see what's going to happen
on July twenty six.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
And Intel has been a global partner for the Olympic
and Paralympic Games since Pyeongchang twenty eighteen, making this summer's
edition in Paris to full time. The company has played
a role in this biggest event in sport. Why is
this partnership so important to Intel?
Speaker 3 (04:09):
I think there's a number of reasons, But like you said,
the Olympic and Paralympic Games, they're massive and they're incredibly
complex to deliver. So I think why we love it
is that we're able to demonstrate what we're capable of
on a really global and massive scale. And we've been
able to do that through incredible partnerships with people like
(04:29):
Allario who really help us demonstrate all the different areas
where we can have impact, whether that be using AI
platforms through five G and the power of our processing
and compute. There's so many different aspects where these solutions
play a role broadcast the incredibly complex operations of delivering
an event at of scale this size and enhancing the
(04:52):
fan experience. We have the opportunity to deliver this at
the Olympic Games, and then we have the opportunity to
go scale that then these solutions in other areas.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
And you mentioned the magic word AI, and I'm really
interested in how AI is going to be a factor
in the Olympic and Paralympic Games. In April, the IOC
unveiled its plans for using AI during Paris twenty twenty four,
and the IOC officials said that the AI will help
identify promising athletes, personalized training methods, and make the Olympic
(05:23):
and Paralympic Games fairer by improving judging, amongst a lot
of things. Alario, just how much of a role will
AI play in the Olympics compared to previous editions, and again,
which ones are you most excited about?
Speaker 2 (05:39):
This is a fantastic question. So we were asked by
our president Thomas Bach to come up with what was
the impact of AI forty Olympic movement FORTIOC forty Olympic Games,
and it became very clear, very quickly that it was
a very large tusk and we needed to kind of
gather opinions and other inputs from other people. We have
(06:00):
done a fantastic work in Senegal with Intel trying to
understand the impact of athletes identifications and how they can
be found in remote locations and remote locations does not
just imply being in Senegal or any other countries. And
we tested over a thousand promising athletes and we found
forty there were top athletes and regarding for these Olympic Games,
(06:24):
what we worked on with Intel is digital twinning and
digital twining really help the organizations and the IOC understand
better how we can plan better given from an a
venue out the flow of people would be done from
a broadcasting standpoint, which are the best camera angles to
use everything, and really this revolutionizes how a large sporting
(06:46):
event can be done without traveling, without meeting on personal
and doing all these virtually. The other one that we
are working as well there it is cyber abuse is
a very big topic for US safe sports and it
is a very very interesting as well. And there is
a area of outer use cases that you will see
and many of them we have done in partnership with
Intel and through all of their solutions.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
And So what excites you about these AI innovations, in
particular the way Intel providing their support.
Speaker 3 (07:16):
I think there's so many and we're just seeing things
move so fast and there's so many different applications. One
of the examples I really love is the work we're
doing to use Intel's AI platforms to create AI generated highlights.
So we're working with Olympic broadcasting services to create highlights
that otherwise just wouldn't have been possible. It's enhancing the
(07:37):
broadcast experience. So it's not just an efficiency opportunity, it's
opportunity to create new opportunities for that fan at home
to really experience the Olympic Games.
Speaker 1 (07:46):
So would an example be, you know, you might be
interested in volleyball and you're just interested in the particular
highlights from the French team. You know, potentially that's how
an AI could.
Speaker 3 (07:56):
Be used exactly. Or you really like archery and typically
that wouldn't be the focus where the broadcasters could spend
their time, but now it's much easier to create that,
so you can really see all the best shots, so
to speak.
Speaker 1 (08:10):
Yeah, and I just want to turn a little bit
now to the athletes experience and how the AI movement
affects the way that they train and compete. There was
a quote from the US Olympic gold medalist skier lindzy
Vonn said recently that AI won't replace athletes or coaches,
but it'll supercharge analytical methods for athletes and can be
(08:32):
used as a positive way to perform better. Alari, can
you give us an example of how AI is currently
being used by athletes?
Speaker 2 (08:40):
Definitely, and a great example could be the use of
AI in biomechanics and athletes in discipline such a gymnastic
and diving and using a to analyze their movements. This
is opening today and it is really impressive what it
can be done. And actually one other one that we
are starting to work on it is how AI can
(09:01):
actually predict injuries for an athlete, and there is actually
methodologies that actually you can understand that an athlete is
going to get an injury on the scaf or wherever
it will be. So thesis really does not an anst
their ability to perform, but actually makes themselves safer and
actually prolong their careers, which will be great.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
And so what have you seen in terms of the
feedback or the attitude towards AI from coaches and athletes.
Speaker 3 (09:29):
Athletes and coaches love data, and they love actionable data,
and if they can get data in real time to
help them change and adjust, they love that. So I
think there's a lot of open mind as to it
and excitement around it to really use this technology to
help them and figure out what's that one thing that
can help them get ahead.
Speaker 1 (09:50):
Is it an example you could give that could solidify
in our listeners' minds about a practical story around using
AI that could just basically help us paint a picture
of what actually they'd be using.
Speaker 3 (10:05):
There's lots of different examples, but if you think about training,
it's a lot of repetitive tasks, and if you can
use computer vision using AI platforms, you can start to analyze,
like Alario mentioned before, using biomechanical information, and you can
understand how that movement is changing over time or adjusting
(10:25):
over time. So it enables the athletes to make tweaks.
And we've seen this through throwing, through speed skating, and
other sports where athletes have been able to use that data,
understand what they're doing different and make tweaks. The other
really interesting thing about what this can do is it
can help identify things that you weren't really thinking about
before because the algorithms are learning and pulling out new
(10:48):
information and can really say, you know, it's not a
that's really impacting the distance of the throw as an example,
it's really B and sometimes with the naked eye that
hasn't been possible. But through AI platforms, this is starting
to be something we're seeing that's quite interesting.
Speaker 1 (11:03):
And if you could just sort of maybe describe a
little bit about the technology that's used to help identify
some of the Olympic hopefuls so that they can actually
make it and help them make it to the big stage.
Speaker 3 (11:18):
Sure, we have developed this technology through something called three
D Athlete Tracking or three DOT. This enables computer vision
data to be captured using AI platforms and it takes
that real time data and provides three D sports biomechanics reporting.
We use a variety of our Intel AI platform stack
(11:39):
to enable this, including hardware and software solutions. So we're
using Intel Xeon and Core processors. They're using open Vino,
which is our open source technology to help do that.
All being driven for efficiency using Intel Goudy AI accelerators.
So it's really demonstrating all the goodness that Intel can
(12:01):
help through every step of an AI solution.
Speaker 1 (12:05):
And Lario, have you heard of any specific examples of
where the athletes are really excited about this in terms
of for their training and competition.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
They are definitely excited. If our listener want to go
on YouTube and we look at the Olympic Agenda launch,
you can actually see some of the athletes that were
part of our Olympic AI working group and James Ayckel
and Alistair Brownby make real examples of how they've been
using it and learning from it, which has been fantastic.
A truly belief that what we have done it is
(12:34):
a great things that actually can transform to world of sports.
And if you think about our motto, which is make
the world better true sports, we will be really embodying
this with Intel as our partner as well.
Speaker 1 (12:46):
And Sarah, I'd like your thoughts around the use of
Intel technology and AI technology in general. You know, my
belief is that these sorts of technologies will become cheaper
and more widespread for larger numbers of nations. I would
like your thoughts on that trend.
Speaker 3 (13:03):
You're absolutely right. I think this technology enable to access
around the world. It sounds super complex and in the
back end and the algorithms, of course they are, but
the ability to reach far and wide are not that complex.
It's done through very simple measures like a mobile phone
to capture that data, and so that can be really
(13:26):
done really easily and really not at a really cost
prohibitive place. And the more you do something, you get
the benefits of scale. So I'm really hopeful that we
are going to help athletes around the world and children
around the world discover sport, enjoy sport, find something they're
passionate about. I think there's a real ability to connect
to people through sport that we have an opportunity to
(13:48):
help influence.
Speaker 1 (13:51):
Coming out next on Technically Speaking and Intel podcast.
Speaker 3 (13:55):
People want answers and they want to understand things, and
having AI enable that can really help people know more
about the intricacies of the sport. I think it's going
to be really interesting to watch this evolve over time.
Speaker 1 (14:07):
We'll be right back after a brief message from our
partners at Intel, Welcome back to Technically Speaking, an Intel Podcast.
I'm here now with Lario Corner, the Chief Information Technology
Officer at the International Olympic Committee, and Sarah Vickers head
(14:28):
of Intel's Olympic and Paralympic Games program. I want to
swing this around to the fan experience, particularly for those
who are lucky enough to attend the Olympic and Paralympic
Games in twenty twenty four. Lario, what do you think
is the most compelling way technology will change the way
(14:48):
viewers experience these events in person?
Speaker 2 (14:51):
We are going to deploy with Intel a chadbot for fans.
We have augmented broadcasting data with analytics that we will
be having their We will have an AI lab for
them to experience, which is an Intel AI lab, which
would be fantastic. I had the luck to experience unt
Olympic I Agenda Launch is even better for Paris twenty four.
(15:12):
There would be a new platform that was co developed
with Intel for a fun experience which would be amazing.
And the automatic highlights that Sarah mentioned before.
Speaker 1 (15:21):
We've talked a little bit about the digital tweeting at
the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris in twenty twenty four.
Can you just explain a little bit about how Intel's
involved in the technology that's being used to pile this.
Speaker 3 (15:34):
Sure, Intel's working very closely with the Organizing Committee and
the broadcasters on delivering a digital twin solution. This is
powered by Intel zon processors, so it takes a lot
of compute. There's a lot of images and video and content,
and it really needs the power of Intel to be
able to be efficient and work for all the parties.
(15:55):
What it does is you can do scenario planning, right,
so you can say, if we are getting too much
volume through this entryway, could we open another door and
what would that do to flow? How do we optimize
and direct people so we're not getting too many people
entering at the right time. So it's really helping them
be smarter about what they're planning. I think in the
future you'll see some more real time application of that,
(16:18):
so real time data to help you make those decisions.
I think it helps both from a safety perspective, but
it also helps with a fan experience, right. No one
wants to wait in line. They want to be at
the field seeing the action, and if we can help
with that through really smart planning through Digital twenty, it's
a win win.
Speaker 1 (16:36):
Okay. Just turning towards now the person viewing from home.
First of all, Lario, what are some of the things
that the viewers at home should look out for that
will really enhance the experience watching the Olympic Games.
Speaker 2 (16:52):
That's a great question, and I think the good and
thread of these discussions is these data and really processing
all of the information that we get gathered from all
of the athletes that we actually have on the field
of play, will be able to provide more data and
analytics to actually experience better these Olympic Games. And the
ability to have more content available readily for all of
(17:14):
our people, for all of our fans, it will be fantastic.
So this is really what we're trying to do. It
is this immediacy that will be provided to these fans.
In addition these actually for the people that will be
in Paris, there will be a lot more experiences that
will be able to do in the field of play
and stuff like that. There is actually one thing that
I will remind you it is Paris twenty twenty four
(17:36):
will be a centenniary because the last Olympic Games that
were held there. If we're in nineteen twenty four in
Paris as well, and that we have video footage of that,
and it will be interesting how we can integrate into
the experience show that the people will see at them.
Speaker 1 (17:52):
You can have a visual virtual runner from nineteen twenty
four running next to the current athlete.
Speaker 2 (17:58):
Or a comparison to see how athletes have changed.
Speaker 1 (18:01):
Yeah, that's right, and you have a bit of a
history in broadcasting, maybe you could just talk a little
bit about how these analytics can actually help the journalists,
the sports broadcasters actually help deliver that new experience, that
new use of data to enhance the broadcast itself.
Speaker 2 (18:22):
If you think about all the events, all the sports
that are present in the Olympic Games in pairs, it
will be the largest one that we had so far.
And one of the questions I have and I experienced,
these commentator have a lot to prepare on and these
all of these research gets done ahead of time. So
one thing that we are trying to understand it is
(18:42):
how can we create systems that actually will prepare all
the informations that actually will understand how the heat in
the hurdles four hundred meters works so that there is
a lot less preparations. How can we provide clips from
fill the place that are up somewhere else so that
they can actually introduce it and make more colorful all
(19:05):
of these sessions for all the people at home. I
think that that's one thing that we are working on
and focusing on to really you know, make this a
much more you know, immersive experience.
Speaker 1 (19:16):
Interesting said that, because in the software world it's all
about COI pilots. Now AI co pilots, it'd be interesting
to have a journalist COI pilot that is right, that
they can ask any sort of question or bring up
any highlights.
Speaker 2 (19:28):
Great point, and this is why we are trying to understand.
You know, if you talk about having the Olympic GPT
and our private LM, this is something that we are
really starting very quickly because it's you know l ELM
out there together data from anywhere, and if they get used,
we might have wrong information being broadcasted. So we are
really taking this very seriously to make sure that the
(19:50):
information that commentator gathers comes from a trust source, and
that trust or source should be DIOC.
Speaker 1 (19:58):
Sarah, do you have any thoughts on what Alaria just
said in terms of Olympic Games GPD type approach.
Speaker 3 (20:07):
I mean, I think it's what people are getting used to, right,
They're used to instant answers and answers that really can
help them, And I think if we can help broadcasters
with the right information, it's going to make their jobs easier.
They're going to tell more interesting and relevant stories. And
it can be happening in real time, so if new
information is coming in, it can be added in. It
(20:27):
doesn't need to wait until that cycles through. So I
think it's really exciting. And I think from a fan
experience perspective at home, Alero hit the nail on the head.
There's so much data. What do you do with that
data that makes that experience more relevant? People want answers
and they want to understand things, and having that AI
enable that can really help people know more about the sport,
(20:50):
know more about the intricacies of the sport. I think
it's going to be really interesting to watch this evolve
over time.
Speaker 1 (20:56):
For me personally, I like to know the athlete story
of how they maybe got discovered and it built up
and they made it into the final of the one
hundred meter sprint.
Speaker 3 (21:04):
Yeah, it's the beauty of the Olympic and Paralympic Games
and what it does. It's a real personal experience for
the fan at home because they connect to those stories
and really root for those athletes. And if we can
help that and make that connection even tighter, it's an
amazing thing.
Speaker 1 (21:18):
I'm really keen to see how technology can improve accessibility
universally and make it easier for everyone to enjoy Paris
twenty twenty four, both at home and in person. Sarah,
perhaps you could talk a little bit about some of
the technology around that to help the accessibility part of
the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Speaker 3 (21:41):
Sure, I can give some examples of what we're doing,
but I can also give examples of where I think
it's going, because I think this is a real opportunity
to help improve the fan experience and we're at the
tip of the iceberg. I think if you think about
accessibility in general, digital twining is another great example of
how that can help with ensuring that there's no barriers
(22:02):
movement is done having that information in advance. We've heard
from our partners at the Paralympic Committee how that's helped
make things more efficient for people moving around. Another example
of what we're doing is we're actually using AI platforms
to help scan areas ahead of time and then have
a visually impaired person be guided through without having a
(22:25):
guide with them. But using technology speaking to them and
helping them understand where the restroom is, where they need
to turn, etc. So they become more independent. We would
like to see that evolve where it's everywhere and it's
not just in a test environment, which is what we're
essentially doing for Paris. But we do see this evolving
over time. Another really cool example of what we've seen
(22:48):
is with hearing a paired and real time translation of ASL,
so someone who uses ASL and someone can have a
conversation with them using technology to make it really seamless.
That's something that we've seen being done, and I think
from an event experience perspective, could just change things altogether
because you could make that across every event everywhere in
(23:10):
the world.
Speaker 1 (23:11):
Final thoughts, What do you think is the future of AI,
not just for the Olympics and Paralympic Games, but in
sport in general in twelve, fifteen, eighteen years time.
Speaker 2 (23:24):
It's a great question, and I think there is two
or three topics. One it is personalizations, and I think
that we got very far, but I think there is
still more that we can do. I'm being very lucky
that I worked in a lot of places, but I'm
originally Swiss and I still remember looking at the Olympic Games.
I want to see the athletes of Switzerland, and unfortunately,
(23:47):
as you can understand, or fortunately the broadcasters in cert
of the country are very focused on their own athletes.
So I think that AI would be able to actually
allow us to do it is actually be more personalized
on what actually will be looking. So that's one thing.
Secondly is and you mentioned this Grame, I think the
data that we'll be able to collect and to understanding
(24:08):
even better how performance was done and tell more comprehensive
story on performance, which we are doing right now. But
I think we can go to the next level really
and then I would say the next one is really
on the athletes. It's himself and the performance, the training.
I hope will see that we can extend the careers
of athletes.
Speaker 1 (24:29):
And so putting your future hat on what do you
think is going to.
Speaker 3 (24:33):
Happen, I mean looking twelve to fifteen years out seems
almost impossible. But I think a couple of things that
I'd say that I think are going to be core
in AI and sport. One is it's still going to
be about the athletes and the performance of the athletes,
and the human element is going to be there throughout,
so you're still going to have these personal connections to
(24:54):
these humans performing and that's not going to change. AI
is not going to change that, but AI is going
to continue to evolve how we experience that, how we
learn about that, and how the athletes train. I think
we're just going to continue to learn. If you think
about the experience in broadcast, if you think about understanding
social sentiment, so using AI as an example to understand
(25:18):
how are people talking about this broadcast and then the
ability to change that broadcast to make it better, Right,
that's just awesome for the broadcasters, it's awesome for the advertisers,
it's awesome for the fans. So I think you're going
to see more and more of those kinds of things
as well as enhancing that in stadium in venue experience
(25:38):
because it's going to be more accessible, easier to get around, smarter,
and AI is just going to have influence in all
aspects of that. I think it's just those use cases
are still evolving.
Speaker 1 (25:50):
Alaria and Sarah, thank you so much for you, Tom.
Speaker 2 (25:53):
Thank you very much for for having us.
Speaker 1 (25:55):
Thank you, thank you, Tobias Lario and Sarah for their
insights and experience for this year's Olympic and Paralympic Games, Paris,
twenty twenty four. After talking with Alario and Sarah, the
potential of AI combined with the Olympic Games is something
I'm really looking forward to experiencing this summer. Being somewhat
(26:17):
of a data nerd myself, I'll be on the lookout
for all the new insights into athletes stats and achievements.
But more than that, it'll be interesting to see if
the technology we discussed today can enhance the personal stories
of the athletes that converge from all corners of the world,
stories that can inspire us to achieve all that we
can be. Good luck to all the athletes at the
(26:38):
Olympic and Paralympic Games, Paris, twenty twenty four. Thanks to
everyone for listening to the second season of Technically Speaking.
I hope you learned as much as I did during
the course of the season about the advancements in AI
technology and where we're headed from healthcare to retail, to
city planning and so much more. And if you missed
(26:58):
any episodes, you can always go back into our archives.
All the episodes from season two and season one are
available in your feed right now wherever you get your podcasts,
and we'll see you in the future. Technically Speaking was
produced by Ruby Studio from iHeartRadio in partnership with Intel
(27:19):
and hosted by me Graham class. Our executive producer is
Molly Sosher, our EP of Post Production is James Foster,
and our Supervising producer is Nikia Swinton. This episode was
edited by Sierra Spreen and written by Nick Firshall.
Worldwide sporting events like the FIFA World Cup and the
Olympic and Paralympic Games have been some of the world's
most unifying events for more than a century, during the
attention of spectators and enthusiasts from around the globe to
watch the greatest athletes of our time compete for a
place in history. The Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris twenty
(00:27):
twenty four will be different from all the rest thanks
to new technology that will help make it the smartest
Olympic Games yet. How can Intel AI platforms and advanced
data analytics revolutionize the experience of the Olympic and Paralympic
Games in the stadium and at home. Join us as
we learn more about what happens when the world's most
(00:48):
innovative minds join forces with the world's greatest athletes in
the quest for gold. Welcome to Technically Speaking, an Intel
podcast produced by Media's Ruby Studio in partnership with Intel.
In every episode, we explore how AI innovations are changing
the world and revolutionizing the way we live. Hey, there,
(01:11):
I'm grame class. Today. In our final episode of season two,
we are exploring the role AI platform technology will play
in the upcoming Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris twenty twenty four,
both for the athletes and for the fans. To discuss
the topic further, we're joined by Alario Korne, the Chief
(01:32):
Information Technology Officer at the International Olympic Committee for the IOC.
Alaria has served in his current role since twenty twenty,
and he's tasked with leading all IT strategy and operations
for the IOC and ensuring the delivery of cutting edge
technology solutions for the Olympic Games.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
Welcome Malario, Thank you very much, Graham, great to be here.
Speaker 1 (01:51):
We're also joined by Sarah Vickers, head of Intel's Olympic
and Paralympic Games program. Sarah joined Intel in twenty fifteen
and has been working on Intel's partnership with the IOC
since twenty seventeen. Welcome to you too, Sarah.
Speaker 3 (02:05):
It's great to be here.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
I want to start and go back to Tokyo twenty twenty,
where a lot of us would remember the one thy
eight hundred Intel Premium drones during the opening ceremony before
we discuss what to expect in this year's Olympic and
Paralympic Games. What's the one technological innovation that sticks out
for you over the past few editions of the Olympic Games.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
I will say, for me, it is exactly what you say.
The drones. I still remember this day. I was actually
on the field of play in the Olympic stadiums and
seeing them come up with something amazing. Even though during
the Olympic Games we always have seen technology innovations and
really things new and everybody saw before the last innovation
(02:55):
that we had seen in Japan was actually the satellites
and to use broadcasting live feeds. So innovation has been
always at the core of the Olympic Games, and anything new,
I will say is wait and see and you will
be odd for what you will see.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
Sarah, I have got you any lasting memories from previous
Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
I think what I'd say is we're really proud of
our progress over time, especially when it comes to artificial
intelligent platforms. When we started in twenty seventeen, we really
were just demonstrating what was possible, and now we are
delivering solutions and we've been doing that through helping demonstrate data.
(03:37):
We did a big thing with artificial intelligent platforms in
the Olympic Winter Games Beijing twenty twenty two. So, like
Lario said, I think the ceremonies are a closely kept secret,
but I'm really excited to see what's going to happen
on July twenty six.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
And Intel has been a global partner for the Olympic
and Paralympic Games since Pyeongchang twenty eighteen, making this summer's
edition in Paris to full time. The company has played
a role in this biggest event in sport. Why is
this partnership so important to Intel?
Speaker 3 (04:09):
I think there's a number of reasons, But like you said,
the Olympic and Paralympic Games, they're massive and they're incredibly
complex to deliver. So I think why we love it
is that we're able to demonstrate what we're capable of
on a really global and massive scale. And we've been
able to do that through incredible partnerships with people like
(04:29):
Allario who really help us demonstrate all the different areas
where we can have impact, whether that be using AI
platforms through five G and the power of our processing
and compute. There's so many different aspects where these solutions
play a role broadcast the incredibly complex operations of delivering
an event at of scale this size and enhancing the
(04:52):
fan experience. We have the opportunity to deliver this at
the Olympic Games, and then we have the opportunity to
go scale that then these solutions in other areas.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
And you mentioned the magic word AI, and I'm really
interested in how AI is going to be a factor
in the Olympic and Paralympic Games. In April, the IOC
unveiled its plans for using AI during Paris twenty twenty four,
and the IOC officials said that the AI will help
identify promising athletes, personalized training methods, and make the Olympic
(05:23):
and Paralympic Games fairer by improving judging, amongst a lot
of things. Alario, just how much of a role will
AI play in the Olympics compared to previous editions, and again,
which ones are you most excited about?
Speaker 2 (05:39):
This is a fantastic question. So we were asked by
our president Thomas Bach to come up with what was
the impact of AI forty Olympic movement FORTIOC forty Olympic Games,
and it became very clear, very quickly that it was
a very large tusk and we needed to kind of
gather opinions and other inputs from other people. We have
(06:00):
done a fantastic work in Senegal with Intel trying to
understand the impact of athletes identifications and how they can
be found in remote locations and remote locations does not
just imply being in Senegal or any other countries. And
we tested over a thousand promising athletes and we found
forty there were top athletes and regarding for these Olympic Games,
(06:24):
what we worked on with Intel is digital twinning and
digital twining really help the organizations and the IOC understand
better how we can plan better given from an a
venue out the flow of people would be done from
a broadcasting standpoint, which are the best camera angles to
use everything, and really this revolutionizes how a large sporting
(06:46):
event can be done without traveling, without meeting on personal
and doing all these virtually. The other one that we
are working as well there it is cyber abuse is
a very big topic for US safe sports and it
is a very very interesting as well. And there is
a area of outer use cases that you will see
and many of them we have done in partnership with
Intel and through all of their solutions.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
And So what excites you about these AI innovations, in
particular the way Intel providing their support.
Speaker 3 (07:16):
I think there's so many and we're just seeing things
move so fast and there's so many different applications. One
of the examples I really love is the work we're
doing to use Intel's AI platforms to create AI generated highlights.
So we're working with Olympic broadcasting services to create highlights
that otherwise just wouldn't have been possible. It's enhancing the
(07:37):
broadcast experience. So it's not just an efficiency opportunity, it's
opportunity to create new opportunities for that fan at home
to really experience the Olympic Games.
Speaker 1 (07:46):
So would an example be, you know, you might be
interested in volleyball and you're just interested in the particular
highlights from the French team. You know, potentially that's how
an AI could.
Speaker 3 (07:56):
Be used exactly. Or you really like archery and typically
that wouldn't be the focus where the broadcasters could spend
their time, but now it's much easier to create that,
so you can really see all the best shots, so
to speak.
Speaker 1 (08:10):
Yeah, and I just want to turn a little bit
now to the athletes experience and how the AI movement
affects the way that they train and compete. There was
a quote from the US Olympic gold medalist skier lindzy
Vonn said recently that AI won't replace athletes or coaches,
but it'll supercharge analytical methods for athletes and can be
(08:32):
used as a positive way to perform better. Alari, can
you give us an example of how AI is currently
being used by athletes?
Speaker 2 (08:40):
Definitely, and a great example could be the use of
AI in biomechanics and athletes in discipline such a gymnastic
and diving and using a to analyze their movements. This
is opening today and it is really impressive what it
can be done. And actually one other one that we
are starting to work on it is how AI can
(09:01):
actually predict injuries for an athlete, and there is actually
methodologies that actually you can understand that an athlete is
going to get an injury on the scaf or wherever
it will be. So thesis really does not an anst
their ability to perform, but actually makes themselves safer and
actually prolong their careers, which will be great.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
And so what have you seen in terms of the
feedback or the attitude towards AI from coaches and athletes.
Speaker 3 (09:29):
Athletes and coaches love data, and they love actionable data,
and if they can get data in real time to
help them change and adjust, they love that. So I
think there's a lot of open mind as to it
and excitement around it to really use this technology to
help them and figure out what's that one thing that
can help them get ahead.
Speaker 1 (09:50):
Is it an example you could give that could solidify
in our listeners' minds about a practical story around using
AI that could just basically help us paint a picture
of what actually they'd be using.
Speaker 3 (10:05):
There's lots of different examples, but if you think about training,
it's a lot of repetitive tasks, and if you can
use computer vision using AI platforms, you can start to analyze,
like Alario mentioned before, using biomechanical information, and you can
understand how that movement is changing over time or adjusting
(10:25):
over time. So it enables the athletes to make tweaks.
And we've seen this through throwing, through speed skating, and
other sports where athletes have been able to use that data,
understand what they're doing different and make tweaks. The other
really interesting thing about what this can do is it
can help identify things that you weren't really thinking about
before because the algorithms are learning and pulling out new
(10:48):
information and can really say, you know, it's not a
that's really impacting the distance of the throw as an example,
it's really B and sometimes with the naked eye that
hasn't been possible. But through AI platforms, this is starting
to be something we're seeing that's quite interesting.
Speaker 1 (11:03):
And if you could just sort of maybe describe a
little bit about the technology that's used to help identify
some of the Olympic hopefuls so that they can actually
make it and help them make it to the big stage.
Speaker 3 (11:18):
Sure, we have developed this technology through something called three
D Athlete Tracking or three DOT. This enables computer vision
data to be captured using AI platforms and it takes
that real time data and provides three D sports biomechanics reporting.
We use a variety of our Intel AI platform stack
(11:39):
to enable this, including hardware and software solutions. So we're
using Intel Xeon and Core processors. They're using open Vino,
which is our open source technology to help do that.
All being driven for efficiency using Intel Goudy AI accelerators.
So it's really demonstrating all the goodness that Intel can
(12:01):
help through every step of an AI solution.
Speaker 1 (12:05):
And Lario, have you heard of any specific examples of
where the athletes are really excited about this in terms
of for their training and competition.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
They are definitely excited. If our listener want to go
on YouTube and we look at the Olympic Agenda launch,
you can actually see some of the athletes that were
part of our Olympic AI working group and James Ayckel
and Alistair Brownby make real examples of how they've been
using it and learning from it, which has been fantastic.
A truly belief that what we have done it is
(12:34):
a great things that actually can transform to world of sports.
And if you think about our motto, which is make
the world better true sports, we will be really embodying
this with Intel as our partner as well.
Speaker 1 (12:46):
And Sarah, I'd like your thoughts around the use of
Intel technology and AI technology in general. You know, my
belief is that these sorts of technologies will become cheaper
and more widespread for larger numbers of nations. I would
like your thoughts on that trend.
Speaker 3 (13:03):
You're absolutely right. I think this technology enable to access
around the world. It sounds super complex and in the
back end and the algorithms, of course they are, but
the ability to reach far and wide are not that complex.
It's done through very simple measures like a mobile phone
to capture that data, and so that can be really
(13:26):
done really easily and really not at a really cost
prohibitive place. And the more you do something, you get
the benefits of scale. So I'm really hopeful that we
are going to help athletes around the world and children
around the world discover sport, enjoy sport, find something they're
passionate about. I think there's a real ability to connect
to people through sport that we have an opportunity to
(13:48):
help influence.
Speaker 1 (13:51):
Coming out next on Technically Speaking and Intel podcast.
Speaker 3 (13:55):
People want answers and they want to understand things, and
having AI enable that can really help people know more
about the intricacies of the sport. I think it's going
to be really interesting to watch this evolve over time.
Speaker 1 (14:07):
We'll be right back after a brief message from our
partners at Intel, Welcome back to Technically Speaking, an Intel Podcast.
I'm here now with Lario Corner, the Chief Information Technology
Officer at the International Olympic Committee, and Sarah Vickers head
(14:28):
of Intel's Olympic and Paralympic Games program. I want to
swing this around to the fan experience, particularly for those
who are lucky enough to attend the Olympic and Paralympic
Games in twenty twenty four. Lario, what do you think
is the most compelling way technology will change the way
(14:48):
viewers experience these events in person?
Speaker 2 (14:51):
We are going to deploy with Intel a chadbot for fans.
We have augmented broadcasting data with analytics that we will
be having their We will have an AI lab for
them to experience, which is an Intel AI lab, which
would be fantastic. I had the luck to experience unt
Olympic I Agenda Launch is even better for Paris twenty four.
(15:12):
There would be a new platform that was co developed
with Intel for a fun experience which would be amazing.
And the automatic highlights that Sarah mentioned before.
Speaker 1 (15:21):
We've talked a little bit about the digital tweeting at
the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris in twenty twenty four.
Can you just explain a little bit about how Intel's
involved in the technology that's being used to pile this.
Speaker 3 (15:34):
Sure, Intel's working very closely with the Organizing Committee and
the broadcasters on delivering a digital twin solution. This is
powered by Intel zon processors, so it takes a lot
of compute. There's a lot of images and video and content,
and it really needs the power of Intel to be
able to be efficient and work for all the parties.
(15:55):
What it does is you can do scenario planning, right,
so you can say, if we are getting too much
volume through this entryway, could we open another door and
what would that do to flow? How do we optimize
and direct people so we're not getting too many people
entering at the right time. So it's really helping them
be smarter about what they're planning. I think in the
future you'll see some more real time application of that,
(16:18):
so real time data to help you make those decisions.
I think it helps both from a safety perspective, but
it also helps with a fan experience, right. No one
wants to wait in line. They want to be at
the field seeing the action, and if we can help
with that through really smart planning through Digital twenty, it's
a win win.
Speaker 1 (16:36):
Okay. Just turning towards now the person viewing from home.
First of all, Lario, what are some of the things
that the viewers at home should look out for that
will really enhance the experience watching the Olympic Games.
Speaker 2 (16:52):
That's a great question, and I think the good and
thread of these discussions is these data and really processing
all of the information that we get gathered from all
of the athletes that we actually have on the field
of play, will be able to provide more data and
analytics to actually experience better these Olympic Games. And the
ability to have more content available readily for all of
(17:14):
our people, for all of our fans, it will be fantastic.
So this is really what we're trying to do. It
is this immediacy that will be provided to these fans.
In addition these actually for the people that will be
in Paris, there will be a lot more experiences that
will be able to do in the field of play
and stuff like that. There is actually one thing that
I will remind you it is Paris twenty twenty four
(17:36):
will be a centenniary because the last Olympic Games that
were held there. If we're in nineteen twenty four in
Paris as well, and that we have video footage of that,
and it will be interesting how we can integrate into
the experience show that the people will see at them.
Speaker 1 (17:52):
You can have a visual virtual runner from nineteen twenty
four running next to the current athlete.
Speaker 2 (17:58):
Or a comparison to see how athletes have changed.
Speaker 1 (18:01):
Yeah, that's right, and you have a bit of a
history in broadcasting, maybe you could just talk a little
bit about how these analytics can actually help the journalists,
the sports broadcasters actually help deliver that new experience, that
new use of data to enhance the broadcast itself.
Speaker 2 (18:22):
If you think about all the events, all the sports
that are present in the Olympic Games in pairs, it
will be the largest one that we had so far.
And one of the questions I have and I experienced,
these commentator have a lot to prepare on and these
all of these research gets done ahead of time. So
one thing that we are trying to understand it is
(18:42):
how can we create systems that actually will prepare all
the informations that actually will understand how the heat in
the hurdles four hundred meters works so that there is
a lot less preparations. How can we provide clips from
fill the place that are up somewhere else so that
they can actually introduce it and make more colorful all
(19:05):
of these sessions for all the people at home. I
think that that's one thing that we are working on
and focusing on to really you know, make this a
much more you know, immersive experience.
Speaker 1 (19:16):
Interesting said that, because in the software world it's all
about COI pilots. Now AI co pilots, it'd be interesting
to have a journalist COI pilot that is right, that
they can ask any sort of question or bring up
any highlights.
Speaker 2 (19:28):
Great point, and this is why we are trying to understand.
You know, if you talk about having the Olympic GPT
and our private LM, this is something that we are
really starting very quickly because it's you know l ELM
out there together data from anywhere, and if they get used,
we might have wrong information being broadcasted. So we are
really taking this very seriously to make sure that the
(19:50):
information that commentator gathers comes from a trust source, and
that trust or source should be DIOC.
Speaker 1 (19:58):
Sarah, do you have any thoughts on what Alaria just
said in terms of Olympic Games GPD type approach.
Speaker 3 (20:07):
I mean, I think it's what people are getting used to, right,
They're used to instant answers and answers that really can
help them, And I think if we can help broadcasters
with the right information, it's going to make their jobs easier.
They're going to tell more interesting and relevant stories. And
it can be happening in real time, so if new
information is coming in, it can be added in. It
(20:27):
doesn't need to wait until that cycles through. So I
think it's really exciting. And I think from a fan
experience perspective at home, Alero hit the nail on the head.
There's so much data. What do you do with that
data that makes that experience more relevant? People want answers
and they want to understand things, and having that AI
enable that can really help people know more about the sport,
(20:50):
know more about the intricacies of the sport. I think
it's going to be really interesting to watch this evolve
over time.
Speaker 1 (20:56):
For me personally, I like to know the athlete story
of how they maybe got discovered and it built up
and they made it into the final of the one
hundred meter sprint.
Speaker 3 (21:04):
Yeah, it's the beauty of the Olympic and Paralympic Games
and what it does. It's a real personal experience for
the fan at home because they connect to those stories
and really root for those athletes. And if we can
help that and make that connection even tighter, it's an
amazing thing.
Speaker 1 (21:18):
I'm really keen to see how technology can improve accessibility
universally and make it easier for everyone to enjoy Paris
twenty twenty four, both at home and in person. Sarah,
perhaps you could talk a little bit about some of
the technology around that to help the accessibility part of
the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Speaker 3 (21:41):
Sure, I can give some examples of what we're doing,
but I can also give examples of where I think
it's going, because I think this is a real opportunity
to help improve the fan experience and we're at the
tip of the iceberg. I think if you think about
accessibility in general, digital twining is another great example of
how that can help with ensuring that there's no barriers
(22:02):
movement is done having that information in advance. We've heard
from our partners at the Paralympic Committee how that's helped
make things more efficient for people moving around. Another example
of what we're doing is we're actually using AI platforms
to help scan areas ahead of time and then have
a visually impaired person be guided through without having a
(22:25):
guide with them. But using technology speaking to them and
helping them understand where the restroom is, where they need
to turn, etc. So they become more independent. We would
like to see that evolve where it's everywhere and it's
not just in a test environment, which is what we're
essentially doing for Paris. But we do see this evolving
over time. Another really cool example of what we've seen
(22:48):
is with hearing a paired and real time translation of ASL,
so someone who uses ASL and someone can have a
conversation with them using technology to make it really seamless.
That's something that we've seen being done, and I think
from an event experience perspective, could just change things altogether
because you could make that across every event everywhere in
(23:10):
the world.
Speaker 1 (23:11):
Final thoughts, What do you think is the future of AI,
not just for the Olympics and Paralympic Games, but in
sport in general in twelve, fifteen, eighteen years time.
Speaker 2 (23:24):
It's a great question, and I think there is two
or three topics. One it is personalizations, and I think
that we got very far, but I think there is
still more that we can do. I'm being very lucky
that I worked in a lot of places, but I'm
originally Swiss and I still remember looking at the Olympic Games.
I want to see the athletes of Switzerland, and unfortunately,
(23:47):
as you can understand, or fortunately the broadcasters in cert
of the country are very focused on their own athletes.
So I think that AI would be able to actually
allow us to do it is actually be more personalized
on what actually will be looking. So that's one thing.
Secondly is and you mentioned this Grame, I think the
data that we'll be able to collect and to understanding
(24:08):
even better how performance was done and tell more comprehensive
story on performance, which we are doing right now. But
I think we can go to the next level really
and then I would say the next one is really
on the athletes. It's himself and the performance, the training.
I hope will see that we can extend the careers
of athletes.
Speaker 1 (24:29):
And so putting your future hat on what do you
think is going to.
Speaker 3 (24:33):
Happen, I mean looking twelve to fifteen years out seems
almost impossible. But I think a couple of things that
I'd say that I think are going to be core
in AI and sport. One is it's still going to
be about the athletes and the performance of the athletes,
and the human element is going to be there throughout,
so you're still going to have these personal connections to
(24:54):
these humans performing and that's not going to change. AI
is not going to change that, but AI is going
to continue to evolve how we experience that, how we
learn about that, and how the athletes train. I think
we're just going to continue to learn. If you think
about the experience in broadcast, if you think about understanding
social sentiment, so using AI as an example to understand
(25:18):
how are people talking about this broadcast and then the
ability to change that broadcast to make it better, Right,
that's just awesome for the broadcasters, it's awesome for the advertisers,
it's awesome for the fans. So I think you're going
to see more and more of those kinds of things
as well as enhancing that in stadium in venue experience
(25:38):
because it's going to be more accessible, easier to get around, smarter,
and AI is just going to have influence in all
aspects of that. I think it's just those use cases
are still evolving.
Speaker 1 (25:50):
Alaria and Sarah, thank you so much for you, Tom.
Speaker 2 (25:53):
Thank you very much for for having us.
Speaker 1 (25:55):
Thank you, thank you, Tobias Lario and Sarah for their
insights and experience for this year's Olympic and Paralympic Games, Paris,
twenty twenty four. After talking with Alario and Sarah, the
potential of AI combined with the Olympic Games is something
I'm really looking forward to experiencing this summer. Being somewhat
(26:17):
of a data nerd myself, I'll be on the lookout
for all the new insights into athletes stats and achievements.
But more than that, it'll be interesting to see if
the technology we discussed today can enhance the personal stories
of the athletes that converge from all corners of the world,
stories that can inspire us to achieve all that we
can be. Good luck to all the athletes at the
(26:38):
Olympic and Paralympic Games, Paris, twenty twenty four. Thanks to
everyone for listening to the second season of Technically Speaking.
I hope you learned as much as I did during
the course of the season about the advancements in AI
technology and where we're headed from healthcare to retail, to
city planning and so much more. And if you missed
(26:58):
any episodes, you can always go back into our archives.
All the episodes from season two and season one are
available in your feed right now wherever you get your podcasts,
and we'll see you in the future. Technically Speaking was
produced by Ruby Studio from iHeartRadio in partnership with Intel
(27:19):
and hosted by me Graham class. Our executive producer is
Molly Sosher, our EP of Post Production is James Foster,
and our Supervising producer is Nikia Swinton. This episode was
edited by Sierra Spreen and written by Nick Firshall.
Host
Graeme Klass
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