IBM and the Masters Tournament have announced exciting enhancements for this year’s event on the Masters app and Masters.com. Leveraging the power of watsonx, IBM’s advanced AI and data platform, fans will access detailed Hole Insights, providing shot-by-shot analysis for each hole. Additionally, IBM introduces AI-enabled Spanish narration, expanding on its English-language AI Narration feature. These collaborative efforts between IBM Consulting experts and the Master’s digital team aim to enrich the digital viewing experience for millions of golf enthusiasts worldwide during the Master’s Tournament from April 11-14.
Improved Hole Insights
IBM’s innovative Hole Insights feature, integrated into the 2024 Masters.com website and mobile apps alongside the existing “Track Shots” experience, utilizes natural language processing and structured data to analyze each hole’s play comprehensively.
- Daily Data-Driven Recaps: Offering insights into the day’s gameplay, Hole Insights presents data-driven recaps, highlighting specific holes’ difficulty. For instance, it might report, “The 14th hole proved challenging today, with 25% of shots resulting in bogies.”
- Projections for Gameplay: Leveraging past and current performance data, Hole Insights offers projections for how each hole might play out during the tournament. For example, it might predict, “The 9th hole is expected to be the third most difficult hole today.”
- Historical Context: Drawing from eight years of tournament data and over 170,000 shots, Hole Insights provides historical insights into each hole’s gameplay. These insights include statistics on shot outcomes based on ball positions on the course. For instance, it might reveal, “Shots historically hit in this location have an 82% chance of resulting in a birdie.
“The generative AI power of watsonx is enabling IBM and the Augusta National Golf Club to co-create technology solutions that bring the magic of the Masters to life for millions of fans around the world. From training and tuning to monitoring and maintenance, watsonx manages the entire lifecycle of the AI models used to create features such as AI Narration and Hole Insights. These are the same capabilities we’re applying to our work with businesses across industries as they aim to build better customer care experiences, reach new levels of productivity, and make more informed, data-driven business decisions.” – JONATHAN ADASHEK, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications at IBM
Expanded Narration Options
For the first time, fans can access live Tournament shot insights directly on the Masters website through the groundbreaking Hole Insights feature.
IBM introduces Spanish language narration, adding to its AI sports narration capabilities. Originally launched last year, AI Narration provided automated audio and closed caption commentary for on-demand highlight videos of every shot on every hole, totaling approximately 20,000 shots throughout the Tournament.
Now, fans can enjoy the same narration in Spanish audio and closed caption formats. Whether using the 2024 Masters app or website, viewers can seamlessly switch between English and Spanish narration, enhancing accessibility and inclusivity for diverse audiences.
This enhancement is powered by generative AI and large language models built on watsonx. Beyond simple translation, IBM’s engineers and subject matter experts utilized few-shot learning to train the AI model to “understand” and “communicate” in Spanish authentically, delivering an immersive narration experience for Spanish-speaking fans.
A Decades-Long Partnership
For over 25 years, the Masters Tournament has collaborated closely with IBM, driving a digital transformation journey. From enhancing design and user interface to optimizing back-end systems, IBM has played a pivotal role in converting master data into compelling golf insights.
FAQs
1. What is Hole Insights?
Hole Insights is an innovative feature introduced by IBM for the Masters Tournament. It provides detailed breakdowns of current and historical play and projections of anticipated play for each hole on the course. This feature offers data-driven insights to enhance fans’ understanding of the game.
2. How does Hole Insights benefit fans?
Hole Insights offers fans a deeper understanding of the gameplay by providing data-driven recaps of daily hole performance, projections for upcoming gameplay, and historical insights based on past tournament data. This information allows fans to follow the tournament with greater context and insight.
3. What is AI Narration, and how does it work?
IBM introduced AI Narration, an automated audio and closed caption commentary feature, for the Masters Tournament. It provides commentary for on-demand highlight videos of every shot on every hole. Powered by generative AI and large language models, AI Narration offers fans both English and Spanish narration options.
4. How does AI Narration enhance the viewing experience?
AI Narration enhances the viewing experience by providing accessible and immersive commentary for highlight videos. Fans can choose between English and Spanish narration options, allowing for a personalized viewing experience tailored to their language preference.
5. How long has IBM been collaborating with the Masters Tournament?
IBM has been collaborating with the Masters Tournament for over 25 years. During this time, IBM has been crucial in guiding the tournament’s digital transformation, from design and user interface enhancements to developing advanced features like Hole Insights and AI Narration.
6. What other digital enhancements has IBM introduced for the Masters Tournament?
In addition to Hole Insights and AI Narration, IBM has introduced various digital enhancements for the Masters Tournament. These include features like AI Highlights, Round in Three Minutes, My Group, and Player Insights powered by IBM Watson, all aimed at delivering a world-class digital experience for fans.
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