Preaching Due Diligence, Sports Tech Leaders Ponder Next-Gen AI Tools for Enhanced Fan Experience Generative AI tools like ChatGPT promise new possibilities - and potential pitfalls By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor
Thursday, March 23, 2023 - 3:58 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
As advanced artificial-intelligence tools like OpenAI's ChatGPT capture the cultural zeitgeist, much of the discussion within the sports industry is how these sophisticated AI- and machine-learning-driven platforms can enhance the fan experience both at the venue and during the broadcast or livestream.
You have to experiment [with these technologies because] everybody's jumping on the bandwagon, said LA28 Chief Information Officer David Michael, who is helping create the technological infrastructure behind the LA 2028 Summer Olympics, speaking at the SBJ Tech Week conference in New York City this month. It's going to become a standard that people expect.
We Need To Be Ready for It' Michael cited corporate-software giant Salesforce's recently announced Einstein GPT, which is driven by OpenAI and is the world's very first generative AI program for CRM (customer relationship management), as an example of how generative AI is becoming commonplace at large organizations.
From left: Charlie Myers, chief technology officer, Monumental Sports & Entertainment; Sumit Arora, VP, strategy and analytics, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment; Aaron Amendolia, deputy CIO, NFL; David Michael, chief information officer, LA28; and moderator Taylor Bloom, managing director, sports technology business, SBJ (Photo: Marc Bryan-Brown)
I think it's necessary for us to be continuously looking at these [technologies] and working out how we can actually leverage them and how we can change the experience, he added. A few years ago, having an Alexa skill, where you could ask it questions about your sports team, was the [cool] thing. But now, when you use Alexa, you want it to be more like ChatGPT. The technology is going take these big incremental steps, and we need to be ready for it so that we don't have an instant legacy [product that] we've been working too hard on [but] is no longer [relevant].
The Potential for AI-Generated Game-Day Itineraries' Although many teams, leagues, broadcasters, and venues are keen to see what ChatGPT and other generative AI technologies could mean for sports, their technology leaders are emphasizing the importance of due diligence when it comes to nascent technologies.
I think you have to be careful with these new technologies as they emerge, said NFL Deputy CIO Aaron Amendolia. Because every media story right now is about how somebody could trick [an AI bot] into saying something really scary and Terminator-like. As you put your brand around these things, how do you get them into a place where they express exactly what you need them to do to be consistent and to deliver valuable information to your fans or your event attendees while drawing across multiple sources of data?
He addressed how a pro-sports team could potentially take in public transportation schedules, stadium ingress and egress data, and opportunities to buy food and beverages, and combine that with tracking data and direct fan input to create an ideal schedule/itinerary for the game-day experience. However, he again stressed that, before a project like this is approved, the AI technology being used must be thoroughly vetted.
When you put sources of data in front of a fan and they make their own decisions about it, he said, you've given people the ability to make their own decisions. But, if you have an AI creating an entire itinerary and it doesn't go well, that's not going to reflect well on your brand, and [the story] is going to be about [your organization], not about the technology. I think that we have to be putting these things to the test, implementing [them] in smaller areas, and then making sure they're consistent and deliver the right experience.
AI Has High Upside' But Potential To Be Weaponized' Monumental Sports & Entertainment - which owns the Washington Capitals, Mystics, and Wizards and multiple venues and recently acquired the NBC Sports Washington RSN - is bullish on what AI could offer fans at the venue and watching at home.
I think that AI is a tool that has high upside potential across multiple paths of our business, said Charlie Myers, chief technology officer, Monumental Sports & Entertainment. Everything from customer service to analysis of data lakes to player performance to being able to provide content personalization.
However, much like Amendolia, Myers stressed the potential dangers of this next wave in AI technology, especially AI voice-replication. He noted how French DJ/producer David Guetta recently produced a song that used AI technology to add the voice of rapper Eminem.
There's some cool stuff that's being done with AI voice, he said. But that [technology] is now being weaponized. It's being used as what I'll call voice fishing' for cyber. Those are the types of things that we also need to aware of. You need to look at how you can take advantage of it, but I think you also need to be looking at how do you prepare and defend against it. For us, that's about educating. We have a lot of high-profile people in our organizations; how do you make them aware [that] this may not be what you think it is?'
It's the Execution That Matters' Although the hype currently behind ChatGPT and generative AI is deafening today, so too were many bleeding-edge technologies that never gained traction long term - or at least had to wait for the right moment far down the road.
It took a pandemic for a decade-old technology like QR codes to actually be effective,
North America Stories
29/05/2026
With InfoComm 2026 just weeks away, NDI is giving attendees plenty of reasons to...
29/05/2026
Reaffirming a partnership that has defined Canadian sports broadcasting since 19...
29/05/2026
Mobile/tablet is No. 2 device for watching TV, suggesting that the sports-production industry needs to take another look at the format
Ring Digital's Sprin...
29/05/2026
Berliner Ensemble, one of Berlin's five major theater companies, has expande...
29/05/2026
Solid State Logic will showcase its new compact, fly-away TCA Tour audio product...
29/05/2026
Gerald (Jerry) Pierce, a pioneering technologist who helped shape the digital transformation of the motion picture industry, passed away last month on April 12 ...
29/05/2026
Paramount+ will be the English-language U.S. home for Barclays Women's Super...
29/05/2026
Further strengthening its virtualisation strategy to fully support broadcasters ...
29/05/2026
Swiss broadcaster Canal Alpha has deployed Harmonic's award-winning, software-based XOS Advanced Media Processor to modernize playout operations across cant...
29/05/2026
PTZOptics will showcase a new generation of intelligent video workflows at InfoComm 2026, June 17-19, Las Vegas. Visitors to booth N8227 will see how PTZOptics ...
29/05/2026
Arizona's Family has launched the Arizona's Family Sports (AZFS) streaming app, a new direct-to-consumer destination for live, local sports. The app is ...
29/05/2026
Starting in 2027, DAZN will be the exclusive home of The Canadian Football Leagu...
29/05/2026
Comcast Business has detailed the advanced network infrastructure it has deploye...
29/05/2026
In two-day event, leaders from academia and industry explored solutions to chall...
29/05/2026
The Basketball Tournament (TBT), now entering their 13th year of competition, ha...
29/05/2026
Roku has launched FOX One as a Premium Subscription on The Roku Channel in the U.S. Roku customers can now subscribe to FOX One using their Roku account for liv...
29/05/2026
In its sixth year, the broadcaster's coverage has become a global brand and ...
29/05/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent ratings news and is derived from press re...
29/05/2026
Gerald (Jerry) Pierce, a pioneering technologist who helped shape the digital transformation of the motion picture industry, died April 12, 2026, at his home in...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Comparing 5 AI Video Enhancers for Restoring Old Video Quality
Kate Luvis May 29, 2026
0 Comments
Digitizing VHS, MiniDV, and other legacy formats doe...
29/05/2026
Studio Hamburg Builds New Post Pipeline with DaVinci Resolve Studio
Brie Clayton May 29, 2026
0 Comments
Workflow replaces a patchwork of legacy tools...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
At the Intersection of Music and Dance, an Epic Collaboration Boston Conservatory musicians and dancers found creative parallels in their recent performance o...
29/05/2026
Something fundamental has shifted in how people consume media. Audiences aren't abandoning television or radio content; they're just expanding how, wher...
29/05/2026
Back to All News
The Official Trailer of Physical 100 Italy, on Netflix From Se...
29/05/2026
Experimental HIV vaccine achieves a long-sought goal In a first for the field, all non-human primates given a new series of vaccines generated antibodies capabl...
28/05/2026
FOX Sports' MLB coverage dominated the night at the 47th Annual Sports Emmy ...
28/05/2026
One of the most memorable postseasons in baseball history would have had no memo...
28/05/2026
NBC's Sunday Night Football is among the most-decorated and most-watched pro...
28/05/2026
The 2026 Sports Emmys marked a watershed moment for Prime Video Sports. After bu...
28/05/2026
Hosted by ESPN Senior Writer Ryan McGee, the ceremony honored winners from athletic departments, conference offices, professional networks, production companies...
28/05/2026
Major rights-holders rolled out their 2026 college football slates today, offering a first look at marquee windows, kickoff partners, and conference distributio...
28/05/2026
The 4 Nations Face-Off, an international competition that launched in February 2...
28/05/2026
Soccer is a truly global sport, and, to match the U.S. viewing audience's in...
28/05/2026
The NFL Today, CBS Sports' top-of-the-line NFL studio show, has a storied hi...
28/05/2026
Prime Video is no stranger to innovation, and, within the realm of live streamin...
28/05/2026
The crack of the bat, the pop of the glove, and the cheer of the crowd: those are three prime examples of the glorious sounds fans hear on televised baseball ga...
28/05/2026
Every year, March Madness captivates the entire sports world. Nonstop action, un...
28/05/2026
NBA on NBC was an integral part to live sports production in the 1990s, and, when the league made these media rights available, NBC Sports saw an opportunity to...
28/05/2026
UmpCam is a technological wrinkle that has given fans unprecedented views of wha...
28/05/2026
T-Mobile and the United States Golf Association (USGA) announced a multi-year partnership, making T-Mobile the Official 5G Network Partner of the U.S. Women'...
28/05/2026
By Gina McIntyre
(L-R) Sara Dosa and Andri Sn r Magnason attend the Time and Water premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at Library Center Theatre ...
Preaching Due Diligence, Sports Tech Leaders Ponder Next-Gen AI Tools for Enhanced Fan Experience Generative AI tools like ChatGPT promise new possibilities - and potential pitfalls By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor 
