This SportTechie Legal article was written by Brian Socolow, an attorney in the Nerw York office of Loeb & Loeb LLP.
Wimbledon introduced a chatbot called Fred in 2017 to answer questions and help fans navigate the tennis tournament’s grounds. Attendees were encouraged to “Ask Fred” for help with directions, dining options, and other information to enhance their in-venue experience.
Fred is powered by Watson, IBM’s artificial intelligence platform. The chatbot, which returned in 2018, was Wimbledon’s most visible use of AI to fans. But behind the scenes the tournament deployed Watson’s power and technology in a number of ways, including to speed up the identification of key video moments that could be included in highlights.