Generative AI in sport and exercise psychology: Exploring opportunities and overcoming challenges

Sport and Exercise Psychologists are required to remain aware of technological advances and the impact that these may have on their profession. Artificial Intelligence (AI), and in particular Generative AI (GenAI), has become available to the general public and has widespread use much like the rise of the internet in the late 1990s. This advancement in technology has created new challenges for Psychologists – whether they are in practice or academia. Like the internet, AI tools may be a double-edged sword and have the potential to disrupt both the academic and applied practice of psychologists, offering both challenges and opportunities for the field. Therefore, it is important that Psychologists develop AI literacy so that they are equipped with knowledge on the functionalities of AI and understand the ethical implications for its use. In particular, knowledge of the underlying systems, their general principles, and the ways in which they have developed ‘knowledge’ are crucial for navigating AI whether it is to be integrated into practice or not. The aim of this paper is to discuss the potential transformation and innovation in practice provided by AI and argues that for this to be achieved the development of AI literacy is the starting point.