Ground-breaking technology like Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning is way ahead of fitness industry practices, desires and dreams. The main reason being many fitness sites currently lack the granular data and infrastructure necessary to obtain real AI.
This means our industry is looking through the rear-view mirror on where it’s been, not where it’s going. This is of no use to the consumer and limited use to the operator.
Data remains the fitness industry’s most underutilised asset, yet it’s the foundational element that makes AI so powerful. Unstructured data is difficult to use, which is probably why so few techies develop for fitness compared to other industries.
A lack of granular data has held back Reserve with Google, for example, where the ‘leisure’ market - hotels, restaurants, cinema, beauty and even hair salons - have developed most integrations so far.
My grandchildren love talking to Alexa and Siri, the always-ready, connected, virtual assistants. Yet these ten-year-old twins soon discovered the virtual assistants know nothing about the sports clubs, leisure centres and swimming pools they use.
Back in 2005 I wrote, “if we worked in the pornographic industry, we would all know what a member is but because we work in the fitness industry there’s no hard rule to follow, so to speak”. For AI to work, there needs to be API access to structured, live granular data. The question of data integrity must be addressed by the industry and it must be totally consumer focused if we are to take advantage of what AI has to offer.
Original Source: Health Club Management Issue Dec 2019, page 40