AI and Immersive Technologies in Sport: Innovation, Ethics and Equity

AI and immersive technologies (AR, VR, XR) are emerging as the most consequential and least well-charted, frontier in sport. Large language models are reshaping coaching, scouting, athlete education and decision support. Immersive platforms are opening new modalities for skill acquisition, officiating, rehabilitation, fan engagement and inclusive participation. These advances raise urgent questions of governance, ethics, data sovereignty and equitable access that have not yet been addressed coherently in the sports sciences literature.This Research Topic invites contributions that examine and advance the responsible development, deployment and democratisation of AI and immersive technologies across elite, amateur, recreational and rehabilitative sport settings. We are particularly interested in work bridging laboratory innovation and community impact, including in low- and middle-income contexts.Areas of interest include, but are not limited to:• AI and large language models in coaching, scouting, athlete education and decision support• AR, VR and XR applications in skill acquisition, decision-making, officiating and rehabilitation• Immersive analytics for fan engagement, broadcast innovation and participation• Responsible AI, data governance, privacy and ethical frameworks in sport• Equity of access and translation of immersive and AI-driven innovation into community, paediatric and adaptive sport• Cross-cultural perspectives on AI and XR adoption in sport, with attention to low- and middle-income contextsWe will welcome Original Research, Reviews and Systematic Reviews. Topic editors: Habib Noorbhai, Andrew Green Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/84502/ai-and-immersive-technologies-in-sport-innovation-ethics-and-equity