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His debut in Aspen, X Games will use AI technology Google Cloud to increase objectivity in subjectively judged sports.
“The goal is to deepen fan engagement and provide valuable insights that resonate with both fans and athletes,” said Jeremy Bloom, CEO of X Games and a sports business veteran, in an interview with GamesBeat.
X Games will unveil new experimental AI technology developed in collaboration with Google Cloud during the Superpipe competition at X Games Aspen 2025, with the aim of providing fans with new insights and a deeper level of engagement. The January 23-25 event is sold out and will attract tens of thousands of people, with billions of impressions across social networks, websites and linear partners.
The technology will debut at an event at the X Games in Aspen on Thursday. One of the human leaders among the X Games judges was part of the team that implemented it.
“The first thing it will do is observe the training and we will ask it to predict who the top three will be among the snowboarders,” Bloom said. “It will also do everything for free riders, commenting on the entire run and drawing on the athlete’s story.”
Bloom said the sport has a global following and will release the commentary in multiple languages such as Japanese. The athletes are then judged based on a score. The X Games medals will not be awarded based on this AI score in these specific X Games, in part because the technology is so new and not necessarily perfect yet, Bloom said. But you will be able to see how the AI judge compares to the human judges.
“We’re excited to show it and preview it and show the power of the things it does,” Bloom said. “I think it’s the future of sports.”
It is based on Google’s large Vortex language model. Bloom said it’s good at doing the things you ask it to do, and you can train it using footage of events, such as what a good landing looks like versus a great landing. Bloom said the goal is not to replace human judges, but to bring more accuracy, fairness and transparency to what has until now been a purely human, subjective process. It is similar to the use of “Instant Replay” by basketball referees, but in the case of snow sports, such technology is not used. It’s all based on what a human judge sees at the moment of competition.
“You have to make sure it knows all the tricks of snowboarding,” Bloom said. “It is a difficult problem to understand the economics of movement.”
The AI technology aims to explore the potential to improve objectivity in ranked sports, increase fan engagement and provide athletes with additional insights into their performances. It will analyze the men’s and women’s superpipe competition event. The men compete on Thursday and Saturday.
As X Games celebrates its 30th anniversary, the introduction of this technology represents a step toward exploring how new technologies such as artificial intelligence could complement human judges and provide fans with a more detailed understanding of the competition.
It will watch the qualifying rounds and make a verdict, which will be shown to the audience and the live event after a certain time delay. The crowd will see the results of human judges. The event features snowboarding and skiing for men and women with a total of 18 different events.
“I’ve had this idea in my head for decades,” Bloom said. “With the technology we have, errors (in assessment) should never happen. It was shaped by my two decades as a professional athlete.”
Bloom said the technology is cutting-edge and will bring a lot of transparency and fairness in judging. you’
“I don’t think that would have been possible last year,” he said. “It shows up in a way that surprises me. Athletes say it’s like having a coach in your pocket.”
How it works
X Games AI leverages Google Cloud’s tools, including Vertex AI and advanced large language models, to analyze video footage and collect data on metrics such as air time, trick difficulty and execution.
The system is designed to provide deeper analysis of each run and provide fans with additional levels of understanding. The technology was developed with input from X Games judges, athletes and analysts to ensure compliance with the requirements of the competition.
“This is just the beginning,” Bloom said. “AI is still in its infancy when applied to action sports, but I am blown away by what our model can already achieve. Aspen will allow us to test its capabilities and explore how it could improve transparency, fairness and engagement for fans and athletes alike.”
Part of broader changes
The launch of X Games AI is in line with X Games’ ongoing efforts to further develop its competitions. In 2026, the Action Sports Games League (XGL) will introduce a new team-based format where athletes can compete for both individual and team recognition. The league will also include interactive features such as fantasy sports, betting, real-time analytics and expanded fan engagement opportunities.
“While X Games AI is an early experiment, it reflects our commitment to exploring ways to improve competition and fan experiences,” Bloom added. “We look forward to gathering feedback on the Aspen debut and refining the technology based on these findings.”
X Games Aspen 2025 provides an opportunity to evaluate the tool’s performance and obtain input from stakeholders. Further updates on X Games AI and its potential applications are expected in the coming months.
Jeff Moorad, CEO of MSP Sports Capital, said in a statement: “When we acquired X Games, our goal was to reimagine unique fan experiences and increase access to the world’s best athletes.” The X Games Partnering with Google is a great example of how we want to use technology to enhance this experience.”
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