Artificial intelligence in sports

• Digitalization of sports

2024: Introduced a robot that plays table tennis better than humans. Video

In early August 2024, Google DeepMind introduced a robot that plays table tennis better than humans at the amateur level. The developers claim that this is the first time that the robot has been taught to play with people in active sports. Read more here

2022: NFL athletes start using smart hoop 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 strikes during the game. Read more here.

2018: Microsoft and UBS 'erroneous World Cup AI prediction

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

Analysts of 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 balance of power 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 national team has the most chances of winning Germany - 24%. The second place in this rating of favorites Brazil is with (19.8%), the third - with (16.1%),  Spain the fourth - with 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.

This is not the first time that UBS calculations have been inaccurate. On the ChM-2014, the bank's computer predicted the victory of the Brazilian national team, which eventually lost to Germany with a crushing score of 1:7 in the semifinals.

Microsoft's artificial intelligence was also mistaken in its forecasts. The Bing search engine, having analyzed a large amount of data on playing teams, considered that Germany would reach the final 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 in the ChM-2018 was predicted by the algorithm created by analysts Commerzbank. The probability of a German victory in the tournament was estimated at 18%. The other three most likely candidates to win the final of the sports competition included Brazil and Spain.

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