BARCELONA, 27 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The former basketball player and president of Gasol16 Ventures, Pau Gasol, has assured that the International Olympic Committee (IOC), of which he is a part through the Athletes Commission, will study how to regulate Artificial Intelligence (AI) and how to be “proactive to “It’s time to incorporate it into the sport so that it adds and not subtracts.”
He said this together with the chief digital officer of Telefónica Innovación Digital, Chema Alonso, in the session ‘Unlocking the potential of startups in sports and health’ on the second day of the Mobile World Congress (MWC), which runs until Thursday at the Fira de Barcelona Gran Via venue, in L’Hospitalet de Llobregat (Barcelona).
For Gasol, technology has changed the world of sports a lot, especially in terms of data management and analysis, and the objective should be to “empower the athlete to improve their performance” and their health, especially in elite sport.
He has opted to invest in startups related to health and sports: “Continue making this world a healthier world, reducing obesity and overweight rates that have increased so much in recent decades.”
“We want to have our radar wide open when it comes to identifying opportunities that we believe can contribute to our society in a positive way,” he added and has advocated continuing to participate in non-profit organizations.
“HUMANIST TECHNOLOGY”
Alonso has valued that “technology has to be humanistic” and has opted for projects that focus on improving people’s quality of life through sport.
He has analyzed the life cycle of sport and health has increased in older societies, such as Europe or America, since currently sport “is no longer something that is done by the elite, as a young person or as a child.” .
Regarding his professional career, he explained that managing frustration as a young person “is probably what has helped him the most” in his career and has recommended working with perspective, both in good and bad times.
“In a startup you are going to need a lot of people and if you manage to make them shine, it will be much better for everyone. It is impossible for you to succeed by shining alone if your colleagues do not shine,” he told the future entrepreneurs.