Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming how sports organisations tackle corruption. The ICC notes that AI tools can sift through vast amounts of data — from betting markets to player performance metrics and social media activity — to spot unusual patterns that may signal match-fixing, insider manipulation or other integrity threats. These tools give anti-corruption units better evidence and the capability to act faster.
On the positive side, machine-learning models help to uncover cross-border networks of suspicious activity, making it easier to expose organised corruption rings that traditional methods might miss. AI also strengthens other integrity-related efforts, such as anti-doping, security, and safeguarding. For example, it can help detect targeted online abuse of athletes, enabling protective measures to scale up more effectively.
However, the very power of AI brings risks. Technologies like deepfakes can generate realistic but fake audio or video, potentially fabricating wrongdoing and damaging reputations or even manipulating betting markets. AI could also be misused to falsify documents or evidence, obscure genuine investigations, and erode public trust. Plus, algorithmic errors — especially false positives — may wrongly accuse innocent participants if there isn’t strong human oversight.
To navigate these challenges, sports bodies must go beyond deploying advanced AI tools: they need ethical frameworks, transparency, and human supervision. The ICC points out that organisations should clearly define governance around data and digital evidence, ensuring AI augments human judgment rather than replacing it. Despite cost, resource, and cybersecurity difficulties, striking this balance is essential to preserve integrity in sport.
