조현주 “AI 시대 체육단체는 시민적 플랫폼…서사 있는 조직으로 바라봐야”

The implication of AI in the age of transformation is that national sports policies should focus on individuals and organizations' narratives rather than a linear approach, according to the Korean Sports Science Institute's Vice Researcher, Joo Hyun-joo. She emphasized at the 39th Policy Forum of the Sports Science Institute on May 16th in Seoul's Songpa-gu Olympic Park Terrace that a more flexible approach is required, considering an individual's experience and an organization's characteristics.

She pointed out that traditional sports policies, which design goals and support based on a predetermined path, don't account for each individual's sports experience. Instead, the sports experience of each participant should be expanded into a story, she insisted. Additionally, Joo argued that the government should view sports participants and institutions as platforms that produce sports content, not merely targets or transmitters of sports content.

She suggested measuring the length of participation, recovery after cessation, and transition to other sports instead of the number of individual team participations and operational frequency. Joo noted that while government policies can help set clear objectives and allocate resources, they often don't align with individuals' real-life experiences.

She advocated for rethinking the role of sports organizations as autonomous entities, not just administrative transmitters, and supporting the unique sports production abilities of each organization based on its size, history, and growth stage. She also suggested using accumulated big data on Korean sports and creating new sports IP (Intellectual Property) through creative thinking.

Joo emphasized that the AI era is characterized by competition centered around norms, standards, platforms, and networks. She urged the need for technology and policy leadership in creating Korean sports IP in areas where international norms are not yet established, such as e-sports and pigital sports. The discussion was led by Professor Gwon Sun-uy of Seoul University, who posed the question of how much AI involvement and authority should be allowed in the decision-making process of sports policy experiments.

Joo responded that a very conservative rule design might be necessary in this situation. Professor Yi Jeong of Hongik University presented a case study on the feasibility of applying AI-based sports performance enhancement in the field using his team's developed AI-based sports doping text recognition system. The system faces challenges in the post-use maintenance and management due to high costs.

During the Q&A session, a stakeholder from Pro Baseball's automatic pitching judgment system (ABS) suggested developing infrastructure standards that accommodate AI in the era of transformation, especially when communication infrastructure in baseball stadiums is poor. The head of the Korean Sports Science Institute, Park Sang-hyun, expressed that the institute is currently contemplating the role of institutions in this era of AI transformation and aims to connect technology and the field to provide a direction for our sports.