X Games will test AI from Google Cloud for judging snowboard competitions

Making his Aspen debut, X games it will benefit AI technology from Google Cloud to increase inequality in subjectively judged sports.

The goal is to deepen fan engagement, and provide valuable insights that resonate with both fans and athletes, X Games CEO and sports industry veteran Jeremy Bloom said in the interview with GamesBeat.

X Games will present a new experimental AI technology developed in collaboration with Google Cloud, at the Superpipe competition at X Games Aspen 2025, with the aim of introducing new perspectives and a deeper level of communication for its players continue The event from January 23 to January 25 is sold out and will see tens of thousands of people, with billions of views across social networks, websites and serial partners.

The technology will debut at Thursday's event at the X Games in Aspen. One of the human leaders among the X Games judges was part of the team to implement it.

“The first thing he does is watch practice and we ask him to predict who will be the top three” among the snowboarders, Bloom said. “It's also going to cover everything for free riders, and it's going to reference the whole run and pull back on the athlete's history.”

Bloom said the sport has a global fan base and will share the commentary in multiple languages ​​such as Japanese. After that, he will judge the athletes based on score. The x Games medals won't be awarded based on that AI score in this particular X Games in part because the technology is so new and not quite perfect yet, Bloom said. But you can see how an AI judge compares to human judges.

“We're excited to show it and preview it and show the power of what it does,” Bloom said. “I think it's the sport of the future. “

It is based on Google's large Vortex language model. Bloom said he's good at doing what you ask him to do and you can train him on video of events, how 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 a process that has so far 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 is all based on what a human judge sees during the competition.

“You have to make sure he knows all the tricks in snowboarding,” Bloom said. “Understanding the economy of motion is a difficult problem.”

The AI ​​technology aims to explore the potential of increasing objectivity in refereed sports, increasing fan engagement, and providing additional visibility to athletes on what they are achieving. He will analyze the men's and women's Superpipe championship event. The men compete on Thursday and Saturday.

As the X Games celebrates its 30th anniversary, the introduction of this technology represents a step towards exploring how emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence artificial to complement human judges and offer fans a more detailed understanding of the competition.

He watches qualification rounds and makes judgments which are shown to the crowd and the live event after a certain delay. The public will see the results from human judges. There is snowboarding and skiing for both men and women at the event, 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 diagnosis) should never happen. It was shaped by my two decades as a professional athlete.”

Bloom said the technology is state-of-the-art and will bring a lot of transparency and fairness to the judgement. u'

“I don't think this would have been possible last year,” he said. “It's showing up in ways that surprised me. Athletes say it's like having a coach.” the pocket.”

How it works

X Games AI uses Google Cloud tools, including Vertex AI and advanced language models, to analyze video footage and capture data on metrics such as airtime, trick difficulty, and performance.

The system is designed to provide more in-depth analysis of each run, offering fans additional layers of understanding. The technology has been developed with the help of X Games judges, athletes and analysts to ensure that they match the needs of the competition.

“This is just the beginning,” Bloom said. “AI is still in early development when applied to action sports, but I'm blown away by what our model can already do. Aspen will allow us to test its capabilities and explore how it could increase transparency, fairness and engagement for fans and athletes alike.”

Part of wider changes

The introduction of X Games AI aligns with X Games' ongoing efforts to improve its competitions. In 2026, the Action Sports Games League (XGL) will launch a new team-based format, where athletes can compete for individual and team recognition. The league will also include interactive features such as fantasy sports, betting, real-time analytics, and expanded opportunities to engage with fans.

“While X Games AI is an early experiment, it demonstrates our commitment to exploring ways to improve competition and fan experiences,” said Bloom. “We look forward to gathering feedback from its Aspen debut and refining the technology based on those insights.”

X Games Aspen 2025 will provide an opportunity to evaluate the device's performance and collect information from stakeholders. More updates on X Games AI and potential applications are expected in the coming months.

Jeff Moorad, CEO of BPA Sports Capital, said in a statement, “When we acquired X Games, our goal was to replicate unique fan experiences and increase access to the world's top athletes. The X Games partnership with Google is a great example of how we plan to use technology to enhance that experience.”