The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has decided to utilise artificial intelligence (AI) technology to prevent social media abuse targeting 15,000 athletes and officials during the Paris Olympics next month, IOC President Thomas Bach announced on 14th June.
The decision comes due to the Olynpics taking place amid ongoing conflicts, including the Russia-Ukraine war, and the hostilities between Hamas and Israel in Gaza. These events have already led to instances of social media abuse.
With the Olympics commencing on 26th July, over 10,500 athletes will compete across 32 sports. The IOC anticipates more than half a billion social media engagements during the 16-day event.
“The IOC will use AI at Paris in different areas,” Bach said during a press conference. “One is safeguarding, since we expect half a billion social media posts during these Games. If someone were to take only one second to read each post, it would take them 16 years to go through,” he explained. “The IOC will instead provide a pro-active AI safeguarding tool to protect athletes from cyber abuse. This AI tool offers extensive monitoring, covering 15,000 athletes and officials. This automatically erases abusive posts to shield athletes.”
Russian and Belarusian athletes, although allowed to participate as neutral athletes, will not compete under their national flags, a decision that has sparked anger in Moscow.
The AI measures are designed to cover all forms of abuse, not limited to political attacks. However, the IOC did not disclose details about the level of access athletes would need to grant to their accounts.
Bach also addressed concerns regarding the political climate in France, including the upcoming snap parliamentary elections scheduled just weeks before the Olympics. French President Emmanuel Macron recently called the snap parliamentary election for the end of the month after the anti-immigration, eurosceptic National Rally emerged victorious in the European Parliament elections.
The IOC President assured that these developments would not interfere with the Games’ preparations or execution. “No, we are not concerned,” Bach stated. “Be it the government or the opposition, they all express not only their wish but their determination that France presents itself at its best on the occasion of the Olympic Games.”
