At the Think Conference hosted by IBM, all attention was focused on Alon Cohen, the Senior Vice President of Research and Development at UFC.
Why it matters: The UFC Insights Engine is an AI platform developed in partnership between the UFC and IBM, leveraging live fight data to create compelling stories for viewers.
- Cohen stated, "It drives storylines that are at the core of the most important product that UFC offers."
Between the lines: However, this AI win did not happen without overcoming the usual challenges of people and data.
- Cohen highlights the importance of a people-first approach to implementing AI.
- He urged leaders to view AI as a transformative journey rather than just another technology project.
Context: To achieve this victory, the UFC had to redefine the concept of AI literacy.
- What began as a general understanding of AI's uses and impacts is now evolving into more specific, role-based competencies.
Yes, but: Many businesses today are either stuck in the "proof of concept" phase of AI implementation or have abandoned new AI initiatives due to significant failures with adoption.
- Like the UFC, developing a more AI-literate workforce enables organizations to achieve meaningful progress on their Enterprise AI journey.
How it works: Grant Norris-Jones, Head of Global Partnerships at TKO (the UFC's parent company), praised the collaboration as "one of the most significant milestones for the UFC and a game changer for how fans will experience our sport."
- Powered by IBM watsonx Orchestrate, the new system enables UFC editors and researchers to interact with it using natural language.
- Importantly, the AI system intelligently directs these queries to the most suitable components within the system, ensuring efficient and accurate responses.
Behind the scenes: The system is trained on an extensive "vast library of UFC historical data," which includes a wealth of "fight stats, athlete profiles, and event outcomes."
- This foundational data is crucial for the AI to learn intricate patterns, understand diverse fighting styles, and build robust predictive models.
- These models can forecast outcomes and identify key performance indicators (KPIs) based on past performance.
What's next: The platform's ability to "unlock previously inaccessible insights" is a transformative aspect.
- This capability means that human analysts, irrespective of their "deep institutional knowledge," may struggle to process the sheer volume and complexity of the data fast enough to identify subtle patterns and correlations.
- This advancement is not about automating existing insights; it involves uncovering new ones that were previously hidden, serving as a valid proof of concept for businesses aiming to achieve similar understandings.
Catch up quick: Through clear communication, effective training, and a reliable technology partner, the UFC has achieved rapid returns on investment (ROI) from its Enterprise AI initiative.
- This improved ROI for campaigns, along with more efficient sponsorship planning, indicates that the insights generated will also inform marketing and commercial strategies, leading to more effective monetization of the global customer base.
