The French Tennis Federation has paid technology company Bodyguard.ai to provide Roland Garros players with software that uses artificial intelligence to block negative and hateful comments on social media in real time.
Use of the AI program is voluntary, but free for all 700-800 players in a tennis tournament, including singles, doubles, juniors and wheelchair players. The company reported that dozens of players had signed up for the service as of the beginning of the week. The program will be available to athletes on their Twitter, Instagram and Facebook accounts.
In a statement shared with CNET, the FFT said, “The tennis player’s social media accounts are attracting trolling insults, death threats and hateful, sometimes racist and homophobic comments.” rice field. “By connecting to this new system, they will be protected from any kind of harassment (discrimination, insults, ridicule, threats, etc.) and will be able to interact with the fans in complete safety and focus on their performance on the court. Become.”
In a statement, Yang Guerin, head of sports at Bodyguard.ai, called the anonymous hatred often shared on social media a “sad reality.”
“The aim is to protect the players and their mental health, both directly and indirectly, and their entourage can also read these comments, so they are intended to spread hate or be offensive. It’s about banning people,” Guerin said. “Tennis is one of the sports most affected by this curse.”
Participating players must scan a QR code before connecting to social media accounts. Private messages are not moderated.
Bodyguard.ai said it would provide tournament organizers with daily reports showing how many messages were received and how many were deleted, and would alert if an attack was identified. At FFT’s request, the company said it “can provide message excerpts and the identities of the perpetrators in the event of legal action.”
Guerin told The Associated Press that the company’s software is constantly being updated with new words and emojis to screen, and that the software “uses 100% to analyze comments and remove them if they are hateful or undesirable.” It takes less than milliseconds,” he said.
Bodyguard.ai says it has developed a unique AI technology that “identifies and blocks 90% of harmful content in real time.”
FFT CEO Caroline Frécier told The Associated Press that the federation cost between $30,000 and $50,000. Bodyguard.ai did not respond to a request for comment.
As technology becomes more sophisticated, AI is being used in more industries, from fitness workout companions to online personal shoppers. But AI and technology leaders agree that AI needs regulation and that “mitigating the risk of AI-induced extinction should be a global priority.”
The French Open kicks off on May 28, with the women’s final scheduled for June 10 and the men’s final scheduled for June 11. But one familiar face isn’t playing at Paris’ Stade Roland Garros. Defending men’s champion Rafael Nadal withdrew from the tournament due to injury.
Here’s how to watch the French Open without cable.
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