ANOC Theme Session on AI explores opportunities for NOCs

The final ANOC Theme Session of the XXVII ANOC General Assembly was focused on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and how it can be leveraged for the benefit of NOCs.

IOC Chief Technology and Information Officer Ilario Corna moderated the session and opened proceedings by presenting the work the IOC is doing on harnessing the power of AI. A particular focus was placed on the work the IOC has done in Senegal to use AI to support effective talent identification across the country.

Varvn Aryacetas, Chief Futurist at Deloitte Ventures UK, delivered the keynote address on what is new in AI and what this means for sport. Tracking the advancements in AI, Aryacetas reflected on the power of AI today and the role it can play in sport as well as what is to come with predictive, generative, agentic and embodied AI. Aryacetas urged NOCs to start small when it comes to using AI, taking advantage of the simple tools that can be used with limited resources. From there he suggested investing more into the collection and maintenance of data which can help inform and guide better decision-making.

Director General of the Morocco NOC Amine Kouame addressed how his NOC is using AI to improve its daily operations. Kouame explained how AI can help NOCs to simplify daily workflows, enhance athlete support, improve operational efficiency, support strategic planning, and improve fan engagement. But it also brings challenges such as such as data privacy concerns, integration of AI systems, bias in algorithms and resource limitations.

President of the Danish NOC Hans Natorp elaborated on the work of the DIF innovation lab, a Danish arena for sports and innovation. Through the lab, the NOC has benefited from harnessing AI across a number of areas. As an example, the development of a company called tiny mobile robots is helping to paint the lines on sports fields and is being used every day and saves significant costs. The NOC has also used AI for performance improvements and fan engagement to better understand who the fans are and how content can be better targeted to them.

The last presentation of the day was from Matej Machytka of the Czech NOC. Machytka looked at how AI can support NOCs enhance their communications. However, Machytka noted that when using AI for generating content there is a risk of misinformation which needs to be managed carefully.