Author(s): PAN, Y., BI, X.M., HUANG, L.L.Y., Institution: BEIJING SPORT UNIVERSITY, Country: CHINA, Abstract-ID: 2472

Introduction
AI applications in sports spectating are profoundly reshaping the audience experience (Memmert, 2025). Simultaneously, academia is reflecting on the ethical challenges and societal impacts of emerging digital technologies (Brady et al., 2022). The application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Go (Weiqi) livestreams marks a significant integration of AI within sports. While AI creates an "AI-centric spectating flow," it tends toward technological determinism. This study examines two research questions: (1) What is the structure of AI-centered spectating flows via representative samples? (2) What are the symbiotic relations and ethical issues within Miah's (2017) Digital Ideology framework?
Methods
To address the research questions, the sample comprises 42 hours of Go livestream footage from classic and contemporary matches, including over 20,000 words of real-time chat logs and post-match commentary. Regarding the analysis procedure, the researchers first employed qualitative content analysis, identifying AI evaluative elements, stakeholders, and related themes through manual coding, subsequently applying ethical issue mapping to construct a structured ethical framework for normative discussion.
Results
(1) AI-centric spectating flow can be described as follows: AI establishes an evaluative reference basis--comprising win rates, point leads, Blue Spots, and variation graphs--to organize and dominate the viewing process. AI outputs define situational reality and endgame rhythms, while commentators and audiences synchronize their judgments with these real-time updates.
(2) Drawing on Miah's digital ideology, symbiotic spectating is conceptualized as a framework where human mediation transforms AI references into intelligible narratives and normative pressures, defining spectating ethics as a collaborative product of the human community under AI-referenced conditions.
(3) Mapping identifies key ethical tensions across three domains: epistemic accountability regarding verifiability and uncertainty-communication, the conditioning of agency under centralized authority, and evaluative hegemony driven by deterministic conclusions.
Discussion
Miah’s digital ideology provides a post-humanist blueprint for symbiosis. Ethical mapping transitions the understanding of spectating flows from an AI-dominated descriptive reality to a symbiotic normative imperative. By conceptualizing the spectating flow construct as an analytical tool, this study establishes a prospective framework for competitive scenarios with high AI definitional authority to counter technological determinism and transition toward symbiotic governance.
References
Miah, A. (2014).
Marres, N. (2015).
Miah, A. (2017).
Brady, C., et al. (2021).
Pietraszewski, R., et al. (2025).
Lin, C. L., et al. (2025).
Memmert, D. (Ed.). (2025).