The show features host Gwedo, Professor Yoon Ji-woon from Korea National Sport University, and Director Kim Pil-soo from the Korea Sport Management Strategy Institute to highlight how AI technology is transforming the actual sports scene.
This episode introduces real-life examples of how precisely AI analyzes a player’s movements, physical strength, and technical performance.
Professor Yoon Ji-woon explains that AI is already being actively used in various areas such as performance analysis, strategic planning, and injury prediction. In particular, research is underway to precisely identify the direction, speed, and release timing of pitching motions, which is already being applied in the field.
Additionally, the show will introduce research trends that comprehensively analyze a player’s physical data and environmental variables to predict injuries and design rehabilitation and return-to-play scenarios.
The program also covers how AI is changing the way teams and clubs are operated. Director Kim Pil-soo explains that the method of evaluating players, which previously relied on the experience and intuition of scouts, is now shifting toward quantifying future potential and risks through AI.
The episode showcases the case of West Ham in the English Premier League, which built an AI-based scouting platform, and notes that research on predicting player value using AI algorithms is also being conducted in Korea.
It adds the prospect that as a player’s value expands beyond simple performance to a concept of a future asset, the entire structure of the sports business could change.
Above all, the broadcast poses a question about the essence of sports that must be preserved despite technological advancements. Professor Yoon Ji-woon cites the unpredictability and emotion created by humans as the greatest charm of sports.
Mentioning the case of athlete Park Sang-young, who created a dramatic comeback gold medal in the fencing finals at the 2016 Rio Olympics by shouting “I can do it,” he states that human will and drama, which cannot be analyzed by data, are the core values of sports.
Furthermore, with the development of physical AI technology that moves like humans, the possibility of an era where AI athletes and human athletes compete together is raised.
Along with a sports era that provides more scientific and new forms of enjoyment, it is predicted that new sports rules for safety and fairness may also emerge.
AItopia examines the current changes where AI analyzes sports more quickly and precisely. However, it emphasizes that what ultimately completes sports are the human challenges hidden behind the records, the tension of unpredictable moments, and the stories of people who get back up after falling.
Meanwhile, episode 78 of AItopia, which captures the future and essence of sports, can be seen tonight at 10 PM on KBS LIFE and UHD Dream TV.
