Could AI help decide medals at LA28 Olympics?

The idea puts one of sport’s oldest tensions back in the spotlight: how to balance human judgment with digital precision. In gymnastics, where routines are scored and margins can be razor-thin, any tool that helps officials separate one performance from another carries real weight.

AI-assisted judging has already been used at the World Gymnastics Championships, offering a glimpse of how the technology might fit into elite competition. The appeal is straightforward: judges can be asked to make rapid, exact decisions while athletes perform complex moves at full speed, and a second layer of analysis may help reduce uncertainty.

For Olympic organisers and governing bodies, the larger question is not whether technology can be useful, but how far it should go. In a sport where medals are often decided by tiny differences, even a small improvement in consistency can matter. At the same time, any system that influences scoring must be trusted by athletes, coaches and fans alike.

Whether AI becomes a regular aid or remains limited to certain situations remains to be seen as Los Angeles 2028 gets closer. What is clear is that the debate is moving beyond theory. The next step will be deciding how to use technology without changing the character of a sport built on human evaluation.