Home / Technology / Athletes' AI Clones: New Digital Frontier
Athletes' AI Clones: New Digital Frontier
24 Oct
Summary
- Athletes are licensing AI likenesses for brand deals and content creation.
- New companies create 'synthetic twins' for athletes, active 24/7.
- This emerging industry navigates complex AI rights and potential losses.
Professional athletes are beginning to license their digital likenesses, creating AI-generated 'synthetic twins' to monetize their image and control their online presence. Companies are emerging to manage these AI rights, offering athletes opportunities for brand deals and content creation that can operate around the clock.
Cristian Volpato, a footballer for Sassuolo, has licensed his AI image to Callandor, a company that creates digital replicas for various commercial purposes. This move highlights a growing trend as athletes and sports leagues grapple with AI's impact on image rights, which are not yet extensively covered in player contracts.
Experts anticipate this nascent industry could transform sports content and endorsements, but also raise legal challenges regarding intellectual property and the potential for unauthorized deepfakes. The race is on between technological advancement and establishing clear consent for AI-generated athlete content.
While current intellectual property laws have limitations regarding AI creations, athletes have some recourse through 'passing off' laws if economic loss can be proven. The development of AI brokers represents a new frontier in managing athlete identities in a supercharged global market.
