Can AI find our future Olympic winners?

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Close to the Olympic Stadium in Paris, sports fans have been testing their physical abilities with a new AI talent spotting system that could find the gold medallists of the future. 

The developers behind the technology have an ambitious vision: to take a portable version of the technology to remote areas all around the world, in order to find talented athletes who might otherwise never be discovered by talent scouts. 

How does it work? 

The technology is in development by Intel. It’s an attempt to solve a problem in sports: that it’s difficult for sports scouts to find talent in rural areas. And as the company puts it, those limitations have a twofold effect: 

“A world of talented individuals will never become professional athletes, and fans may never see the world’s best athletes.” 

Intel is the Worldwide AI Platform Partner of the Olympic and Paralympic Games 2024, and it has been showcasing its AI-powered talent scout app at the event. 

The app uses Intel’s AI platform to detect talent using any device with a camera, which means you don’t need expensive, specialist equipment to use it. 

Then video footage of would-be athletes is analysed with computer vision, and the resulting statistics are delivered to talent scouts. Outstanding stats will capture their attention – telling them it’s worth the trip to visit that potential talent in person. 

In a statement, Caroline Rhoades (Intel’s Olympic & Paralympic Games Partner Marketing Manager) said, “This AI platform designed for talent identification not only uncovers hidden talent but also helps to bridge an existing gap.”

Where has it been tested? 

Earlier this year, the application was deployed to help identify potential future Olympians among young people in Senegal, West Africa – because in 2026, Senegal’s capital city Dakar will host the Youth Olympic Games. 

Intel and Olympic representatives used the app on smartphones in six villages in Senegal, scoring and analysing over 1,000 children who were keen to be scouted as potential Olympians. The tests, which included physical and cognitive exercises, only took a few minutes – and within that time they covered more than 1,000 biomechanical data points; measuring acceleration, speed, agility, burst power, and more. 

Of the 1,000 children who took part, 40 demonstrated ‘significant talent’. 

AI can’t predict the future – but can identify markers that suggest a sporting career might be possible 

There’s no guarantee that any promising young athlete will have a successful career in sports. But AI tech could drive more opportunities for talent in underrepresented areas of the world – giving young people the opportunity to be seen by talent scouts who they would otherwise never be exposed to. 

Perhaps one or two of those 40 talented individuals from Senegal will compete in a future Olympic Games? We’ll be watching out for them.

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