Wimbledon’s AI Writer Serves up Incorrect Information on First Day of the Tournament

An artificial intelligence writer, designed to update from Wimbledon has published a series of factual errors on the first day of the tournament.

According to The Guardian, the tournament’s new online feature, Catch Me Up, which publishes pre- and post-match player profiles with AI-generated stories and analysis, is reported to have made a series of errors on the first day of the championships.

The new offering on Wimbledon’s app and website reportedly described the former US Open champion Emma Raducanu as the British No 1, although she is the No 3. The 21-year-old who grew up in Bromley was also described as having won 11 matches so far this year, when she has had 14 triumphs.

It also described a clash between 35-year-old Zhang Shuai, a two-time doubles grand slam champion from China who is on a losing streak, and Russia’s Daria Kasatkina, 27, as an ‘eagerly anticipated encounter between two up-and-coming players’.

Some of the errors appeared to have been corrected after they were flagged by users on social media.

Wimbledon lauded the new feature created with the tech company IBM at an event last month.

A spokesperson for the All England Club said on Monday: “The Catch Me Up feature is a first-of-its-kind pilot within sport, delivered in partnership with IBM. This AI innovation will naturally continue to evolve as the system’s capability builds, with the assistance of human checks.

“This feature complements the traditional breadth of rich editorial content created by our team of writers who provide in-depth coverage of the championships for audiences around the world.”

The news comes after Wimbledon faced criticism last year after trialled AI-powered commentary and captions in its online highlights videos, which has been scrapped this year.

But technology experts warned that unchecked AI can have serious ramifications when tasked with publishing important information.

John Kirk, Deputy CEO at ITG said: “AI is set to play a crucial role in all aspects of our daily lives, and this example is a stark reminder that its function should be to support, not replace human creativity and talent. Whether the task is live analysis, copywriting, or generative image creation, this technology should be used proportionately to improve services, but without external input it could well be prone to error.”

Meanwhile, Will Sargeant, UK General Manager at AND Digital said: “The race to implement the latest AI technologies requires careful management, especially when it comes to fact checking content before it goes live to the public. While the technology will undoubtedly speed up the creation of content, this approach needs to be closely supported by human intervention and digital expertise.”

AI expert Libero Raspa, Director of adesso UK added: “This example underlines the importance of deploying a blended approach to AI adoption, combining human experience and expertise alongside the efficiency of the technology. Used correctly, it can bring fantastic benefits to tournaments like Wimbledon, but having human expertise in place is crucial to ensure quality and high standards of output at all times.”