In just over two months, athletes from hundreds of countries will arrive in Paris for the long-awaited 2024 Summer Olympics.
Athletes had a shorter period of time to prepare to compete in this year's Olympics due to the COVID delay of the 2020 Summer Olympics. Competition in Tokyo began in July 2021 instead of 2020. As competitors prepare for a chance to win a highly coveted medal this year, those tasked with overseeing the more than two-week event continue to prepare a defense against cybersecurity threats. .
The attention paid to cybersecurity has apparently increased in recent years as “bad actors” have employed more sophisticated methods. But responsible use of artificial intelligence presents an opportunity to counter some of those threats.
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The plans will require Paris residents to download a QR code to access restricted areas of the city during the Olympics. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard/File)
Blackbird.AI created an AI-based narrative intelligence platform called Constellation, which efficiently identifies narratives that were derived from some type of misinformation. The platform then begins a process in which the technology analyzes the narrative, measures the level of risk and adds context. All of these steps are done to provide clarity, which in turn allows organizations or anyone leveraging the platform to have the best information at their disposal when it comes to making critical decisions.
“We have a platform called Constellation, our intelligence platform, where we can discover, analyze, investigate online conversations on any platform and [help determine] the risk that this entails. We look at the visibility of the narrative,” Sarah Bout, an intelligence analyst at Blackbird.AI, told Fox News Digital.
WHAT IS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)?
A narrative attack is defined as any claim that has the potential to impose serious harm by “shaping perceptions about a person, place, or thing in the information ecosystem,” according to Blackbird.AI. These attacks can cause significant financial losses and also damage reputation, especially if a specific narrative was based on misinformation.
AI presents an opportunity to counter cybersecurity threats at the Paris Olympics. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
The Constellation Dashboard has the unique ability to provide a “real-time view of narrative attacks as they escalate and become damaging,” according to Blackbird.AI.
The company's website describes Constellation as “multimodal, evaluating text, images, and memes; cross-platform, spanning the dark web, social media, news, and more; and multilingual, supporting more than 25 languages.”
International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach recently expressed the need to responsibly adopt AI in sports. Last month, the IOC shared its AI plan, which includes identifying talent, personalizing training and improving the impartiality of judges.
“Today we take another step to guarantee the uniqueness of the Olympic Games and the relevance of sport. To do this, we have to be leaders of change,” said Bach during a press conference in the then former Olympic Park in London. . “We are determined to exploit the enormous potential of AI responsibly.”
IOC President Thomas Bach speaks at the launch of the AI Olympic Agenda at Lee Valley VeloPark in London on April 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
The IOC's AI plans include using the technology to protect athletes from online harassment and help broadcasters improve the viewing experience for people watching at home. The IOC makes billions of dollars from the sale of broadcast rights to the games.
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“The report focuses on the periods of June and July 2023 and analyzes all types of harmful online conversations. Those that would represent a high risk for the French government, for France in general, but also for the International Olympic Committee.” —Bout added. “We focus on this specific time period for a reason. Viginum is the operational arm of the French government that focuses on foreign digital interference. [Viginum] found a foreign network of online actors propagating complete disinformation campaigns, which (targeted) France's ability to [host] Olympics.”
President Emmanuel Macron led Viginum in 2021 to counter a series of destabilizing operations and provide a defense against possible future events. The office previously began operations in October 2021.
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The Summer Olympics begin on July 26 and conclude on August 11.
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