Artificial Intelligence in Sports

• Digitalization of sports

2022: NFL athletes start using smart caps with sensors to reduce head injuries

On February 11, 2022, athletes began using smart caps with sensors to reduce head injuries. High-tech devices with artificial intelligence will help track the strength, place and severity of blows during the game. More details here.

2018: Mistaken forecast of Microsoft AI and UBS at the World Cup

At the end of June 2018, it became known about the unfulfilled forecasts given by artificial intelligence systems developed by Microsoft and UBS (UBS, United Business Systems).

Analysts at the Swiss bank UBS conducted 10 thousand simulations of matches of the World Cup  in Russia. To calculate the chances of each of the 32 national teams participating in the World Cup, the computer took into account the place of the national team in the FIFA ranking, its results in the qualifying matches for the World Cup, the experience of playing at previous world championships, as well as the arrangement of forces in each of the groups.^[1]

The German national team, which in 2014 became the world champion in football, did not leave the group at the tournament in 2018

AI calculated that the most chances  of winning the  German national team are  24%. The second place  in this ranking of favorites of  uBrazil (19.8%), the third  -  uSpain  (16.1%), the fourth  -  England (8.5%). The prediction did not come true: the Germans did not even manage to leave the group, moreover, they took the last place in it.

UBS calculations were not the first time inaccurate. At the  2014 World Cup, the bank's computer foreshadowed the victory of the Brazilian national team, which  eventually lost to Germany with a crushing score of 1:7  in the semifinals.

The Microsoft artificial intelligence was also mistaken in the forecasts. The Bing search engine, having analyzed a large amount of data about the playing teams, considered that Germany would reach the finals of the 2018 World Cup and lose to the Brazilian national team there. The car also predicted that the Germans would beat the British in the quarterfinals.^[2]

The previous large-scale forecast from Microsoft AI in the field of football fell on the European Championship in 2016. Then the company's computer guessed more than half of  the playoff matches, made a mistake only with Iceland and Wales, but the result was simply unpredictable according to many experts.

The victory of the German national team at the 2018 World Cup was also prophesied by the algorithm created by Commerzbank analysts. The probability of a German victory in the tournament was estimated at 18%. The three other most likely candidates for winning in the final of the sports competition included Brazil and Spain.

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