(Yicai) July 25 -- Chinese internet giant Alibaba Group Holding, one of the top-tier sponsors of the Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games, will provide a range of artificial intelligence technical support for the event, including the first-ever large language model used in commentary at the event.

Tongyi Qianwen, the LLM of Alibaba's cloud computing division Alibaba Cloud Intelligence Group, will provide tech support for the first-ever AI application in Olympic history, the Hangzhou-based parent firm told Yicai yesterday. The app will assist the International Olympic Committee's official commentators, it added.

In addition, Alibaba's AI technology will be applied to broadcasting, offering features such as 360-degree live effects and black-and-white image colorization, as well as assisting Olympic venues in reducing carbon emissions, according to the company.

"We have identified over 180 potential use cases for AI across the Olympic Movement," Ilario Corna, IOC's director of information and technology, said at the 142nd IOC Session held in Paris on July 23. Some of these uses will be on display over the next two weeks, including protecting athletes from cyber abuse, assisting athletes with analyzing performance, improving the fairness and accuracy of refereeing, and offering an enhanced viewer experience, he noted.

To embrace the AI potential, the IOC launched the Olympic AI Agenda in April with five key focus areas: supporting athletes, clean competition, and safe sport; ensuring equal access to the benefits of AI; optimizing Olympic and Paralympic Games operations with a focus on sustainability; growing engagement with people; irving efficiency across the management of the IOC and sport.

The Paris Olympics kick off tomorrow and will run through Aug. 11. The event has 15 global Olympic partners, including China's Alibaba and Mengniu Dairy.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Martin Kadiev