Olympic organizers unveil strategy for using artificial intelligence in sports

LONDON (AP) — Olympic organizers unveiled their strategy Friday to use artificial intelligence in sports, joining the global rush to capitalize on the rapidly advancing technology.

The International Olympic Committee outlined its agenda for taking advantage of AI. Officials said it could be used to help identify promising athletes, personalize training methods and make the games fairer by improving judging.

“Today we are making another step to ensure the uniqueness of the Olympic Games and the relevance of sport. To do this, we have to be leaders of change,” IOC President Thomas Bach said at a press event in the velodrome at the Olympic Park in London, which hosted the summer games in 2012.

"We are determined to exploit the vast potential of AI in a responsible way,” Bach said.

The IOC revealed its AI master plan as it gears up to hold the Paris Olympics, which are set to kick off in just under 100 days.

The IOC's AI plans also include using the technology to protect athletes from online harassment and to help broadcasters improve the viewing experience for people watching from home. The IOC earns billions of dollars through the sale of broadcast rights for the games.

Some AI projects will be rolled out at the Paris games and the IOC has set up a working group on the technology to further drive its adoption in sport, Bach said, without being more specific.

The local organizers of the Paris games have sparked controversy with their plans to use artificial intelligence for security, with a video surveillance system that includes AI-powered cameras to flag potential security risks such as abandoned packages or crowd surges. Digital watchdog groups fear that a proposal to legalize smart surveillance systems, even if only temporarily, will infringe on privacy, though the French government insists the systems won't use facial recognition technology.

Asked about the concerns, Bach told reporters it's up to the authorities in the host country, not the IOC, to decide on ”the best tools to apply to secure the games."

“What we have seen from the French government and from the authorities is that the efforts to ensure security in Paris are really, on a very wide scope, very professional. So we have all confidence in the French authorities,” he said.

Skier Lindsey Vonn said she was envious of the AI-powered tools that weren't available when she was starting out.

Vonn said back in the day she took notes by hand in her performance diary on how different skis, boots and the temperature affected her performance. Nowadays, tablets are used to instantly crunch much more data, as well as give a side-by-side video comparison of the best racing line. AI can supercharge those analytical tools, she said.

“It’s not replacing athletes, it’s not replacing coaching. But I think it’s just another tool that can be used in a positive way to perform better,” Vonn said.

The IOC has partnered with Intel to scout out potential athletes in overlooked places. The tech company took its equipment to Senegal, where they visited five villages and analyzed the athletic ability of a thousand children, by measuring how high they could jump and how fast they could react.

Using AI to analyze the results, "we found 40 that are really promising," said Christoph Schell, Intel's chief commercial officer.

The shortlisted kids' results were then run through an algorithm that recommended what sports they'd be good at, he said.

Olympic officials are also aware of AI risks. Bach warned against allowing machines to be the ultimate arbiter of a young athlete's career. Someone who's a “great athlete in wrestling must still have the chance to play tennis and cannot be sorted out” by the algorithms, he said.

AP videojournalist Kwiyeon Ha contributed to this report.

Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer of Intel Corporation Christoph Schell is interviewed at the International Olympic Committee launch of the Olympic AI Agenda at Lee Valley VeloPark, in London, Friday, April 19, 2024. They will be presenting the envisioned impact that artificial intelligence can deliver for sport, and how the IOC intends to lead on the global implementation of AI within sport. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Lindsey Vonn, Olympic Skiing Champion speaks at the International Olympic Committee launch of the Olympic AI Agenda at Lee Valley VeloPark, in London, Friday, April 19, 2024. The IOC will be presenting the envisioned impact that artificial intelligence can deliver for sport, and how the IOC intends to lead on the global implementation of AI within sport. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Lindsey Vonn, Olympic Skiing Champion and Christoph Schell Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, Intel Corporation, speak at the International Olympic Committee launch of the Olympic AI Agenda at Lee Valley VeloPark, in London, Friday, April 19, 2024. The IOC will be presenting the envisioned impact that artificial intelligence can deliver for sport, and how the IOC intends to lead on the global implementation of AI within sport. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Thomas Bach, IOC President speaks at the International Olympic Committee launch of the Olympic AI Agenda at Lee Valley VeloPark, in London, Friday, April 19, 2024. The IOC will be presenting the envisioned impact that artificial intelligence can deliver for sport, and how the IOC intends to lead on the global implementation of AI within sport. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Lindsey Vonn, Olympic Skiing Champion, smiles as she is interviewed at the International Olympic Committee launch of the Olympic AI Agenda at Lee Valley VeloPark, in London, Friday, April 19, 2024. They will be presenting the envisioned impact that artificial intelligence can deliver for sport, and how the IOC intends to lead on the global implementation of AI within sport. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Thomas Bach, IOC President speaks at the International Olympic Committee launch of the Olympic AI Agenda at Lee Valley VeloPark, in London, Friday, April 19, 2024. They will be presenting the envisioned impact that artificial intelligence can deliver for sport, and how the IOC intends to lead on the global implementation of AI within sport. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

A Pennsylvania nurse who administered lethal or potentially lethal doses of insulin to numerous patients pleaded guilty to three counts of murder and other charges Thursday and was sentenced to life in prison.

Heather Pressdee, 41, was given three consecutive life sentences and another consecutive term of 380-760 years behind bars during a hearing in Butler, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) north of Pittsburgh. She played a role in the deaths of at least 17 patients who lived in five health facilities in four counties between 2020 and 2023, prosecutors said.

The victims ranged in age from 43 to 104. Coworkers often questioned Pressdee's conduct and said she frequently showed disdain for her patients and made derogatory comments about them, authorities said.

Pressdee, who could have faced a death sentence, pleaded guilty to three counts of first-degree murder and 19 counts of attempted murder. She initially was charged in May 2023 with killing two nursing home patients and injuring a third. Further investigation led to dozens of more charges against her. During a February hearing in which she argued with her attorneys, she indicated that she wanted to plead guilty.

Pressdee said little as she entered her pleas, responding to most questions with a single word. When one of her lawyers asked her why she was pleading guilty, Pressdee replied, “Because I am guilty.”

The plea hearing was expected to last through Friday because several people wanted to give victim impact statements, officials said. Some who spoke in court Thursday told Pressdee that she had wrongly tried to play God, noting that although some of her victims were elderly or very ill, none were ready to die.

Pressdee didn't look at the speakers or react to their comments, even when one shouted an expletive at her that led the courtroom gallery to break out in applause, according to news reports.

Another speaker told the court: “She is not sick. She is not insane. She is evil personified. ... “I looked into the face of Satan myself the morning she killed my father.”

Prosecutors alleged that Pressdee, of Harrison, gave excessive amounts of insulin to patients, including some who weren't diabetic. She typically administered the insulin during overnight shifts, when staffing was low and the emergencies wouldn't prompt immediate hospitalization.

Her nursing license was suspended early last year, not long after the initial charges were filed.

According to court documents, Pressdee sent her mother texts between April 2022 and May 2023 in which she discussed her unhappiness with various patients and colleagues, and spoke about potentially harming them. She also voiced similar complaints about people she encountered at restaurants and other places.

Pressdee had a history of being “disciplined for abusive behavior towards patients and/or staff at each facility resulting in her resigning or being terminated,” prosecutors said in court documents. Beginning in 2018, Pressdee held a number of jobs at western Pennsylvania nursing homes and facilities for short periods, according to the documents.

Other health care workers have been convicted of killing patients. Among them is William Davis, a Texas nurse who was convicted of capital murder in 2021 for injecting air into the arteries of four patients after they underwent heart surgery. He was sentenced to death but is appealing his conviction. Another nurse, Charles Cullen, killed at least 29 nursing home patients in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, but some experts believe he may have killed many more.

This image provided by the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office shows Heather Pressdee. The Pennsylvania nurse who administered lethal or potentially lethal doses of insulin to numerous patients pleaded guilty to three counts of murder and other charges Thursday, May 2, 2024 and sentenced to life in prison. (Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office via AP)