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Motorsport’s world governing body FIA is ramping up its use of artificial intelligence (AI) as it works with a global coalition of sports and governments to combat online abuse.
The first United Against Online Abuse (UAOA) conference was held in Paris, where it was announced that the FIA has partnered with Arwen AI, who have worked with the Mercedes, Red Bull and Alpine Formula One teams.
FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem said more than 4,000 sites had been blocked in the space of seven weeks last year before the FIA’s annual congress.
The FIA spokesman said there had been discussions with TikTok, Google and Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp parent company Meta.
Ben Sulayem said a recent barometer survey revealed 75 per cent of athletes reported threats against their physical safety. More than 90pc agreed athletes would leave their sport if online abuse was not addressed.
The problem also affects those who give their time for free. “The volunteers. You remove them and there is no Formula One. No WRC (world rally championship). Nothing,” he explained.
“I got threats, our volunteers got threats, our drivers got threats, our stewards. If we allow this to happen for long our sport will be beyond repair.
“To be united together at a government level or a media level or on federation level, I believe we can make a change,” he added.
