How the Olympics are using AI to reinvent the Games and its partnerships

As preparations get underway for the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is embracing AI as a new operating model that spans multiple areas of its business.

Speaking at the Ai4 Conference in Las Vegas, Alejandro Merino-Madrid, head of AI at the IOC, outlined how artificial intelligence is reshaping everything from athlete protection and officiating to fan engagement and commercial partnerships.

The overarching goal, he said, is to ensure AI benefits every stakeholder across the Olympic movement, not just those with the biggest budgets.

“The benefits of AI are available everywhere for everyone,” Merino-Madrid said. “AI is a relatively new technology in sports, and it has the power to divide or the power to unite. … We want the benefits of AI to be available for everyone.”

For advertisers and marketers, that strategy extends to how Olympic stories are told and how they partner with the IOC.

AI-powered storytelling

One of the IOC’s biggest AI investments offers a glimpse into where sports partnerships may be headed and centers on helping broadcasters and fans better understand what’s happening in real time.

The organization has built a sports analytics platform that transforms live competition data into instant insights. Fans can ask why a score was awarded, learn more about an athlete or understand the difficulty of a routine, with answers delivered in less than half a second — or in “the blink of an eye” with less than 450 milliseconds latency.  Broadcasters can use the same technology to enrich commentary and storytelling.

“Invisible data transforms into insights. And with the right angle, right comment, it transforms into unforgettable stories,” Merino-Madrid said.

AI-powered digital twins that recreate movement in near-real time are further helping judges and referees analyze performances while giving athletes new performance insights.

Olympic partners are building AI

Following Merino-Madrid’s presentation, The Current asked how AI fits into the IOC’s relationships with brands.

He emphasized that the IOC doesn’t view its highest-level commercial relationships as traditional advertising. Rather than simply licensing sponsorship rights, the IOC increasingly sees partners as technology collaborators helping build the future Olympic experience.

“We don’t call them advertisers. We call them partners because they come and develop solutions for us,” he said. “So these solutions are not done by us and then they pay to put the name. They are co-developing them with us.”

Those collaborations span the IOC’s global Olympic partners. Omega oversees timing, scoring and officiating technologies, while companies such as Alibaba and Deloitte contribute AI and consulting capabilities within their partnership categories.

Using AI to protect athletes

AI is also helping solve for online abuse.

The IOC developed an AI-powered cyber abuse protection service that scans millions of social media posts, videos and comments to identify hate speech targeting athletes and officials before they’re exposed to it. Harmful posts are reported to social platforms while affected athletes can receive support.

“Hate speech has no place,” Merino-Madrid said. “The system reports it to the social networks and removes them before, more likely than not, before the athletes and the families can see them.”

According to the IOC, cyber abuse increased by more than 40% during the Milano Cortina Winter Games despite lower overall engagement, and the new service was able to protect roughly 15,000 athletes.

Trust comes first

Even with the excitement surrounding AI, Merino-Madrid repeatedly returned to governance.

The IOC has created a “Trustworthy AI Framework” built around employee training, governance guidelines and practical checklists that organizations can use before adopting new AI systems. He also urged businesses to prioritize clean data, governance and security before scaling AI initiatives. 

“The best strategy in the world is not worth the paper it uses if it never gets implemented,” he said. “You need to start and you need to deliver tangible value with your initiatives.”

AI is becoming a shared platform for storytelling, fan engagement and product development between rights holders and the brands helping power the Games.