Super Bowl Edition: Here's how AI is impacting the big game!

- Simplified AI -
Your gateway to discovering the world of Artificial Intelligence!

Here's a special edition of Simplified AI this week since it's Super Bowl Sunday. Let’s take a look at how AI is impacting the big game!

A sneak peek of what’s below:

• NFL's digital athlete

• Launching AI into the mainstream

• AI can create ads for you

The NFL is putting AI to work!

NFL's Digital Athlete

Football is widely recognized as one of the sports with the highest rates of injury, a fact that can abruptly end athletes' careers due to the intense physical nature of the game. In response, the NFL has been focusing on reducing injuries among its athletes. Since 2002, the league has implemented 50 rule changes aimed at eliminating dangerous tactics and minimizing injury risks.

Now, the NFL has introduced a new asset to further combat injuries: Artificial Intelligence. The "Digital Athlete" initiative was launched during the 2022 season, initially with four teams testing the technology. This recent season marked its expansion to all 32 NFL teams.

In collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS), the Digital Athlete program utilizes artificial intelligence and machine learning to significantly advance the understanding of player health and performance. A digital model of a player can be created that provides a detailed overview of a their experience, giving NFL teams precise data points to ensure athletes stay healthy, recover quickly, and perform at the highest level.

How does it work?

The AI employs computer vision to monitor and "see" game events in real time. 38 cameras around a stadium capture video and collectively record the 3D movements of players during games (and practice settings).

This video and data gives coaches and analysts the ability to elevate their understanding of the game, moving beyond simple statistics like "our quarterback is throwing 18/25 today." By leveraging AI, they can gain insights directly from the quarterback's perspective as if they were standing on the field right next to them. They can better understand decision-making during plays based on the coverage the QB saw, evaluate body impact from sacks, and analyze the velocity of each throw and clock the quarterback's speed when exiting the pocket.

While there's the added benefit of performance analytics, the NFL has said the main draw of using the AI technology is improving players' health. If a player experiences a head-to-head collision and requires evaluation, the AI tool can assist medical personnel in assessing the severity of a potential concussion and understanding the true force of the impact. Similarly, if a player reports an ankle injury during halftime, the video analysis can review their gait in the preceding half to determine if fatigue contributed to the injury. This will help teams better understand when they should take a player out of the game for their safety.

Throughout a season, the Digital Athlete program analyzes nearly 7 million video frames weekly, capturing about 100 million instances of player locations and positions on the field. This comprehensive data collection is essential for advancing safety measures, developing safer equipment, and enhancing coaching strategies. And through machine learning, the tool continuously improves by learning from new data over time.

Going Forward

This technology is set to revolutionize sports by facilitating the development of personalized training and recovery plans for players, conducting real-time injury risk assessments, and identifying further safety initiatives for leagues to prioritize. It empowers teams to make decisions based on data, moving away from a reliance on guess work.

Given the vast potential of the Digital Athlete, I have no doubt we'll see other sports adopt this technology very soon.

Launching AI into the mainstream

Check out Super Bowl commercials focused on AI!

Given the advancements in AI over the past year, it is reasonable that we'll see several AI-focused advertisements during this year's Super Bowl. Companies are heavily investing billions in this technology, making the $7 million cost for a Super Bowl commercial relatively minor in comparison.

The AI landscape is incredibly competitive right now. While many are familiar with ChatGPT, they may not be fully acquainted with the array of tools developed by other companies. The situation is further complicated by the frequent renaming of these Gen AI tools. A Super Bowl commercial, viewed by over 100 million people, can significantly enhance the visibility of these products and services, positioning them as the preferred AI tools for consumers.

To generate excitement, most companies have started to premiere their Super Bowl commercials on their websites and YouTube a few days before the event…so let's take a look at a few companies that have already released an AI-focused ad:

Microsoft

After a four-year hiatus since their last Super Bowl ad, Microsoft returns this year with a spot to showcase their AI assistant, "Copilot," which they aim to incorporate into every aspect of daily life. The Ad focuses around determination and the role of using AI to accomplish challenging tasks - young individuals starting a business, getting a degree, making a movie, and changing the world. You can watch the ad here.

Google

Google is using their ad spot to highlight their Pixel phones as well as their own AI - but they stay pretty general with the name, calling it "Google AI". After shifting names multiple times, this week they officially settled on the name "Gemini" for their AI tool. Their ad adopts a heartwarming approach by featuring a man with blindness/low vision using Google's "Guided Frame" feature on a Pixel phone. This tool provides auditory guidance to the user, indicating when a face is properly positioned within the camera frame. This ad could resonate well with viewers by highlighting a compassionate application of AI during a period of widespread concern over AI misuse. You can watch the ad here.

It’s an avocado…thanks!

Even non-tech companies are jumping on the AI hype-train, like this tool from the Avocados From Mexico brand. Despite the gimmicky nature of the "guacAImole" tool, it highlights a real-world use case of AI - users can generate recipes simply by taking a picture of their ingredients. This tool can provide a list of ingredients, deliver step-by-step cooking instructions, and suggest complementary foods. Given that 50 million pounds of guacamole are anticipated to be consumed during the Super Bowl, this is a huge opportunity for the brand to enhance its visibility and engage with consumers.

Jokes

And of course, there are ads that poke fun at AI, like this one for the new Despicable Me movie. If you've tried making AI images, you know there are some challenges to overcome!

The NFL and their TV partner for this Super Bowl, CBS, are likely going to stay away from unknown AI companies this year. The backlash from the 2022 Super Bowl regarding Cryptocurrencies and the plummet shortly thereafter of companies like FTX means there's going to be some higher scrutiny around who's ads get accepted.

After the Super Bowl, I’ll be ranking my favorite AI ads on twitter! Let me know your thoughts!

Can AI create ads?

In today's fast-paced world, where content consumption is at an all-time high, companies are constantly seeking innovative ways to capture the attention of their audiences.

Gone are the days of manual brainstorming sessions and lengthy production cycles. AI is streamlining the entire process, enabling companies to generate ideas, craft compelling scripts, and produce captivating visuals with unprecedented speed and efficiency. The results? Engaging ads that not only captivate audiences but also drive meaningful interactions and conversions.

If you think large companies aren't relying on AI to help create their ads, think again! Let's take a look at just a few of the many ways large brands are already using AI:

• Netflix customizes content tile images to feature actors you've previously watched

  • Anya Taylor-Joy may replace Cillian Murphy on the Peaky Blinders image for viewers who watched The Queen's Gambit, despite her minor role in the show.

• Coca Cola fosters community engagement through AI image contests that encourage participants to "bring Coca Cola anywhere."

• Luxury and retail brands such as Gucci and Calvin Klein are incorporating digital AI avatars instead of real models in their advertisements.

• Nike employed AI to craft an ad celebrating Serena Williams' retirement, showcasing a match between her and a younger version of herself, based on data compiled over a year.

• Nutella leveraged AI to generate 7 million unique designs for their jars.

• Meta (Facebook) has introduced AI tools that assist ad creators in effortlessly generating text and images.

• Unilever utilizes AI to compose new product descriptions for classic brands, including Ben & Jerry's and Dove.

Gen AI allows companies to develop tools that "think" and respond in a certain way too, allowing for the creation of tailored responses and messages that align with a brand's unique "voice.” Want it to be exceptionally friendly? No problem. Want it to use certain linguistic preferences? No problem. If you’re in marketing, you know how important a brand’s voice is!

You can also design AI tools to evaluate ads and provide feedback. Proctor & Gamble simulated focus groups by creating customer profiles, bypassing the need for time-consuming and costly recruitment of actual participants. This approach, combined with the analysis of historical data and social media sentiment regarding similar products, enabled them to refine their advertisements prior to public release.

Incorporating AI into the advertising process facilitates a more efficient cycle of ideation, testing, and deployment of new advertisements, which significantly outpaces traditional ad creation.