Southampton’s SentientSports welcomes AI academic to leadership team

SentientSports has appointed Professor Nick Jennings to its senior leadership team.

The Southampton firm uses AI to help professional sports teams and organisations enhance their decision-making both on and off the pitch.

As vice-chancellor and president of Loughborough University, Professor Jennings will help SentientSports apply AI and machine learning to automatically identify and block toxic online content in real time and improve the safety of professional football players.

He’s previously held roles as vice-provost for research and enterprise at Imperial College London.

He also became the UK’s first Regius Professor of computer science during his time at the University of Southampton, and served as the first chief scientific advisor for national security for the UK government.

Throughout his career, Professor Jennings has been involved in a number of successful startups within the tech sector, and was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in the Queen’s New Year Honours List in 2016 for his services to computer science and national security science.

“Joining SentientSports is a brilliant opportunity for me to apply my expertise in AI to real-world issues in the sports industry”, he said.

“I’m eager to work alongside Ryan and the team to enhance fan engagement and tackle the pressing challenge of online abuse towards players.

“I’m passionate about sports, so combining my passion with my work motivates me. I’m looking forward to collaborating with the team to help them become world leaders in the AI and sports industry.”

Professor Jennings was once PhD supervisor to Professor Gopal Ramchurn, who chairs the board at SentientSports and is currently a professor of artificial intelligence at the University of Southampton.

In turn, Professor Ramchurn mentored Dr. Ryan Beal, CEO and founder of SentientSports, who was recently announced on the Forbes 30 Under 30 Sports List for 2024.

This latest appointment therefore adds a third academic generation to the board, building on the arrival of former Manchester United chief executive Ed Woodwood as a strategic advisor and non-executive board member last November.

Ed said: “Nick is a fantastic addition to our board.

“His appointment significantly enhances our ability to address the challenges we’ve identified within sports teams.

“His expertise in AI, coupled with his experience at Loughborough working alongside UK sports leaders, will be invaluable to us.”

Dr. Ryan Beal, CEO and founder of SentientSports, added: “We’re thrilled to have Nick join our board.

“He’s been at the forefront of some of the most significant AI research and brings generational AI talent to our team.

“By leveraging cutting-edge AI technology, our aim is to build sophisticated AI agents across social media platforms and news outlets.

“These agents will be equipped to automatically detect abusive content, initiate legal takedown procedures, and alert the relevant authorities.

“Additionally, our AI tools will help sports clubs identify players at risk of such abuse, enabling timely intervention with appropriate support and training.”

“Guided by Nick’s extensive experience in various AI domains, one of our key commitments at Sentient is to create a safer and more supportive environment for athletes online.”