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4 months ago
24
Wimbledon has faced backlash over errors on its official website with fans blaming organisers for using AI to generate official content throughout the tournament.
The prestigious tournament was embarrassed by a series of mistakes, revealing the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to produce some of its website content.
Wimbledon organisers turned to generative AI platform IBM watsonx to create content for its website during the tournament.
This decision backfired as numerous errors were spotted by fans.
One notable mistake was listing Australian tennis star Alex de Minaur as being from the United Kingdon.
The sporting rivalry between England and Australia, rooted in cricket and rugby, intensified the magnitude of the error made by AI bots.
Fans were also puzzled by other inaccuracies, such as former US Open champion Emma Raducanu being incorrectly listed as Britain's No. 1 player, despite being the No. 3 ranked British woman on the WTA rankings.
Additional errors included labeling 35-year-old Zhang Shuai and 27-year-old Daria Kasatkina as 'up and comers.'
These inaccuracies, attributed to AI, have been criticised by the public.
Alex de Minaur has French heritage, but is about as British as Vegemite
Aussies were left fuming when AI wrote that Aussie star Alex de Minaur was from the UK
The website also incorrectly said that Emma Raducanu was the British No.1
Leading tennis journalist Ben Rothenberg expressed his frustration on X, formerly known as Twitter, stating, 'Honestly offensive that the world's richest tennis tournament is outsourcing writing jobs to s***ty AI.'
'Apparently AI strike again. So many mistakes have been made at the home of tennis. My question; why allow a AI to take over without someone checking all items?' one tennis fan asked.
It comes after AI was used for commentary by Wimbledon in 2023, a decision that was scrapped for the 2024 tournament.
Wimbledon has not yet officially responded to the public criticism.
However, organisers are also using AI to combat online abuse and protect female players.
The tournament organizers have a dedicated team of investigators using the AI service Threat Matrix to monitor content on platforms like X, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and TikTok for harmful posts.
The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) has warned about the rising number of female stars affected by online bullying and urged social media platforms to enhance safety measures.
Alex de Minaur is preparing for his match against world No. 212 Frenchman Lucas Pouille. If successful, he might face No. 2 seed Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals.
English (US)