Could government data unit learn from elite sport?
The government has recently set up a new data science unit in 10 Downing Street, with the hope of using tools including AI to cut costs across Whitehall departments.
But could it benefit from looking at how data is gathered and used in elite sport?
That's the suggestion from data experts and academics at the cutting edge of understanding how it can benefit sport.
Manager of Premier League side AFC Bournemouth Andoni Iraola has even credited data science with helping his side reach their record points tally in the top flight of English football.
"For me, data is vey valuable," the manager said, adding that he uses player performance data to get the maximum from his playing squad.
"I like to analyse. And not just one game. We have data on 38 games, all the passes, all the training, there are patterns that you see, there is a reason behind this.
"It's something that helps us. It cannot be probably the most important thing, for me but, definitely a big big help, yes."
But it's not just football that is using performance data.
At Salisbury races, on-course bookmaker Robert Perry explains how a horses' form, or performance data, is used to set the betting odds.
"Individual horses respond differently to conditions and different track configurations," he said.
"How well a horse runs on a straight track, how it runs on a curved track, on grass, on the all weather, up the hill etc, how it did in previous races, all that data is fed into a computer and used to calculate the odds of it winning."
Sports science and the application of performance data is also being taught and used at several universities, including Bournemouth.
Lecturer Adam Sewell processes all the data analysis for GB Basketball.
"For me it's about transferring from a sport into a political environment," he said.
"The way that we collect the data, the way we bring it all together, and that feedback aspect is really important.
"It makes sure we can provide that evidence base for whatever we're looking at.
"Whether it be government policy or team actions in a sport, to provide that insight to coaches or a minister, so you can make that coach or a minister's life easier."
The government's new data science unit hopes to use AI to speed up hospital admissions, to use data from HMRC to track uncollected taxes, even using an AI programme to redact legal documents.
Professor Andy Calloway from Bournemouth University said performance data could be used in lots of ways, not just in sport.
"The way in which we use data in sport is really well evidenced," he said.
"There's lots of really good examples from which government can learn.
"You think about what you do every day with wrist monitors, heart-rate monitors, all of that is being recorded by companies to be able to use the data, it's going to make some interesting insights into healthcare.
"We can already see that as having leverage in reducing health insurance, and those kind of aspects.
"If the government wants to use AI to replace people, we've got to trust that the policymakers are putting in safeguards to protect people and we need to make sure that we don't lose sight of the human component as the end result of all of this use of data."
You can follow BBC Dorset on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
PM plans to 'unleash AI' across UK to boost growth
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Associated Press
26 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Kirby follows Earps in retiring from international soccer duty with England
LONDON (AP) — Another member of England's European Championship-winning team has announced her retirement from international soccer, with midfielder Fran Kirby making her decision after missing out on selection for the team's title defense next month. The 31-year-old Kirby, who played 77 games for England and scored 19 goals, stepped down from national team duty less than a week after goalkeeper Mary Earps did the same. Kirby made her senior debut in August 2014 and represented England at four major tournaments, as well as featuring for Team GB at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. She started in all of England's games at Euro 2022 on home soil, scoring two goals along the way as the Lionesses lifted their first major trophy with victory over Germany in the final at Wembley. Her last appearance for England came off the bench during its 6-0 win over Portugal on Friday. She announced her decision on Instagram following the team's 2-1 loss to Spain on Tuesday. 'After being in the England team since I was 21, it's time to close that chapter of my life,' Kirby wrote. 'I didn't ever want this day to come, but I cannot tell you how proud I am it happened. It's been the biggest honor to represent my country, one that I had only dreamt about as a young girl.' Kirby was planning to retire from international duty after the upcoming Euros in Switzerland but has brought that forward after discovering she wouldn't be in Sarina Wiegman's squad for the tournament. 'When I had the conversation with Sarina and you know, she laid her plans out for the Euros, and she told me I wasn't going, unless someone got injured, I knew it was the moment where I'd outstayed my welcome,' Kirby told ESPN. 'I don't want to take the opportunity away from someone who can learn and to then set them up for the future. And I just didn't want to be waiting around every day, of keeping that faint hope going just in case I was going to get a chance. I don't think that would've been fair on my head, either.' ___ AP soccer:
Yahoo
42 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Deepfake nudes outpace Wisconsin law; children and adults at risk
The Brief Generative AI websites are making it easy for children and adults to digitally undress friends, classmates and colleagues. So-called 'deepfake nudes' of children are already banned in 38 states, including Wisconsin. Pending legislation in Wisconsin would make it a felony to share or publish deepfake nudes of adults, too. BAYSIDE, Wis. - A new online threat is putting Wisconsinites at risk of sexual exploitation. Apps and websites are using artificial intelligence to turn innocent photos into so-called deepfake nudes. What we know Dozens of mobile apps and websites are cashing in on the power of generative-AI to turn innocent photographs of identifiable, real people, into computer-generated nudity. In some cases, the sites are churning out images of graphic, simulated sexual acts. "They're unbelievably realistic," says Michael Zimmer, professor of Computer Science and Director of the Marquette University Center for Data, Ethics and Society. "It's kind of an arms race. A lot of the app stores have been trying to remove these platforms, but the websites still exist." FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX LOCAL Mobile app for iOS or Android For decades, Zimmer said, photo-editing software has made it possible for the tech-savvy to manipulate images in sexually-inappropriate ways. But artificial intelligence has made it faster, easier and more accessible, even to those with little to no technological skills. "The realism, the instant ability to do this. You don't have to have your computer run all night to do this. It happens with just the click of a button," Zimmer said. The backstory To show just how easy it is to do without harming an actual person, FOX6 Investigators photographed a mannequin. We then uploaded the image to a so-called "AI nudify" site and asked it to undress the image. The result was so realistic that we had to use black bars to censor it for use in a news story. We are intentionally not naming the site we used, but one AI-tracking website claims the 15 most popular sites have more than 56 million active users combined. What they're saying When Elliston Berry was 14, she said 2,400 classmates in her Texas High School saw images of her nude body. "It was really embarrassing and shameful," Berry said, "Especially because I [was] just a freshman and everyone is seeing these intimate images of me." Only, it wasn't really her. A classmate had taken a fully-clothed photo of Berry and removed her clothing with an AI-undressing app."My innocence was stripped away," Berry said. Local perspective The same thing happened to a pair of 13-year-old girls in Milwaukee's north shore. The girls were students at Maple Dale school, a K-8 grade school in Fox Point. According to a search warrant affidavit filed in October 2024 by Bayside Police, a 13-year-old male student took photos of two female classmates posted online and used AI to undress them. SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News The original pictures were posted to Instagram. One was a selfie taken in a restroom. The other, a photograph of the girl's batmitzvah. In both images, the girls were properly clothed. The computer-generated images made them appear to be nude. The boy shared the photos with another boy on Snapchat. By the numbers While many adults are just beginning to learn about the new technology, researchers say there's a good chance your children already know. "Yeah, there's a very good chance, unfortunately," said Melissa Stroebel, Vice President of Research and Insights for Thorn, a non-profit dedicated to online safety. Thorn surveyed more than 1,200 teens and young adults, ages 13-20. They found one in eight already knew someone who had been victimized by an intimate deepfake. And one in 17 said they had personally been victims. "That's the size of a high school classroom," Stroebel said, adding that often, children who create or share synthetic nudes may simply be curious. "It was somebody they had a crush on, and they thought that this was an acceptable way to explore that crush." Or they may be acting out of revenge for an ex. "Because they didn't appreciate the genuine harm and risk," Stroebel said. While the survey aimed to quantify the problem, some experts say the cases we know about are the tip of the iceberg. Why you should care "I think a lot of these cases go unreported," said Erin Karshen, an Assistant District Attorney in Milwaukee County who prosecutes sensitive crimes. While Wisconsin law does consider AI-generated images of children to constitute illegal child pornography, adults are another story. "There just isn't a great fit for it in the law right now because it's such a new technology that we hadn't seen before," Karshen said. According to the consumer rights non-profit, Public Citizen, 38 states, including Wisconsin, have new laws that prohibit intimate deepfakes of children. But Wisconsin is among just four of those states that do not provide similar protection for adults. "Current law does not take into account deepfake technology," said State Representative Brent Jacobson, a Republican from Mosinee. Jacobson is teaming up with State Senator Andre Jacque, a Republican from New Franken, on a bill that would treat intimate deepfakes of adults the same as a real nude image. The bill would make it a felony to post, publish or otherwise share a synthetic nude image of an identifiable person, without that person's consent, if the intent is to harass or intimidate the person depicted. "The message of this legislation is clear," Jacque said. "Don't do it." The other side The bill unanimously passed the State Senate, but in the Assembly, Representative Darrin Madison raised concerns. "Can it be legally circulated, maybe as a joke?" Rep. Madison asked in a public hearing. "Or maybe for educational purposes." The Milwaukee Democrat did not respond to FOX6's request for an interview, but in the hearing he worried about the impact the law could have on urban youth. "Young people being funneled into our criminal justice system, ending up as sex offenders for life and so on," Madison said. "There's arguments to say this is speech," said Zimmer. "That I should have the ability to create things on my computer in the privacy of my home without the government interfering." "Artistic freedom," said FOX6 Investigator Bryan Polcyn. "Artistic freedom," Zimmer said. Stroebel said there's nothing funny about it. "Creating a deepfake nude is not a joke. It is not harmless," Strobel said. In other words, when it comes to psychological harm caused by computer-generated nudity, there's nothing artifical about it. What's next It's already a felony in Wisconsin to take a naked picture of a person without their consent. Senator Jacque's bill would expand that law to deepfakes. However, before the bill passed the Senate, lawmakers added two amendments. One makes it a crime only if the person posting the image knows the person depicted did not give consent. The other makes the deepfake a crime only if the image is so realistic that a reasonable person would believe the conduct actually happened. The bill, as amended, passed the senate unanimously, 33-0. It now awaits action in the state Assembly.
Forbes
an hour ago
- Forbes
From Concept To Construction: The Impact Of AI In Architecture
AI is helping reshape how buildings are designed, planned, and delivered which is making ... More architecture smarter, faster, and more adaptive. That building you just walked past—the one with the clean angles and light-filled interior? AI may have played a bigger role in the design than you think. It could've suggested the materials, simulated how sunlight would travel through the space, or optimized the layout for both beauty and energy efficiency. Today's architects aren't just automating simple tasks with AI. Rather, they're collaborating with AI. From the first sketch to the final walkthrough, AI is changing how we design, how we build, and how we think about the spaces around us. Generative design tools allow architects to input overall goals, various constraints, and material specs. Then, taking all these various inputs into account, AI generates a variety of viable design options, far faster than human architects could generate. Some designs are expected. Others are wildly original. That's the point. AI is helping architects by handling some of the repetitive drafting tasks such as layouts, elevations, and floor plans, allowing architects to regain time for creativity. The augmented intelligence workflow, one where the human is not replaced but enhanced with AI tools, allows for fewer errors, faster iterations, and more time spent on concept and vision. This isn't automation for automation's sake. It's about designing better buildings, faster, and with more insight than ever before. Additionally, material selection gets smarter too. AI is able to evaluate a variety of factors such as durability, cost, sustainability, and aesthetic fit. It even identifies overlooked alternatives that hit the same marks but for less money or less environmental impact. Design is only one side of the blueprint. A building that stuns from the outside but leaks when it rains, traps heat in summer, or creates cracking in the foundation? That's a liability. Looks matter of course, but function is non-negotiable. AI-enhanced structural analysis is able to run simulations on wind loads, seismic activity, and other real-world stressors before the foundation is even poured. Weak points? Flagged. Reinforcements? Suggested. Risk? Reduced. In addition to helping select the best location, AI is also being used to help with site planning. AI evaluates topography, zoning regulations, climate data, and environmental constraints to help identify the most feasible, the most strategic, and the most available locations for new builds. What once took weeks of manual review now happens in minutes, with greater precision and context. This results in buildings that aren't just innovative, but resilient and responsive to their environment from day one. Cost overruns are a chronic problem in architecture. AI is helping to change that. By analyzing historical pricing data, current market conditions, and material trends, AI tools are able to help deliver more accurate cost estimates from the earliest stages. And when scope shifts, as it unfortunately does for many construction projects, AI can adjust the forecast instantly, providing real-time feedback on how design changes will ripple through the budget. It's not just about controlling costs. It's about having a clearer financial roadmap before breaking ground. Designing and building with sustainability in mind is no longer a niche priority but quickly becoming an expectation. And, AI is helping architects embed sustainability into the design process from the start. AI tools are able to evaluate factors like natural light, insulation, airflow, and orientation to suggest modifications that reduce energy use without sacrificing design intent. AI tools are able to highlight material combinations that cut carbon impact. They can also spot opportunities for solar integration or passive cooling. Sustainability, once an afterthought, becomes a design parameter. One the AI doesn't forget. AI isn't just reshaping design—it's redefining delivery. Today's project management tools are getting smarter. AI enhanced tools analyze schedules, flag potential delays, and reallocate resources before problems slow things down. Timelines become more reliable. Teams stay aligned. Cost overruns are spotted early, rather than after the budget's blown. When AI is Integrated into BIM platforms—those digital command centers for planning and managing buildings—AI acts like another check. It scans models for issues that might go unnoticed such as a pipe cutting through a beam, ductwork clashing with wiring, or systems misaligned behind the walls. It catches mistakes before they become major problems. However, it's not just about avoiding problems. AI streamlines how teams work together. It recommends more efficient workflows. It ensures that every stakeholder sees the most current version of the plan. Updates become automatic and communication becomes clearer. The result? Fewer surprises, faster approvals, and projects that stay on track. From early design exploration to final project delivery, AI is working with architects in many ways such as accelerating workflows, reducing risk, and elevating what's possible. It's not replacing architects. It's making them more powerful, more efficient, and better equipped for what's next.
