IBM's Watson is helping tennis fans argue with each other

New York (CNN Business)With spectators unable to fill stadiums, sports leagues have to get creative with new forms of digital engagement to keep fans entertained. During the US Open, which started Monday, the US Tennis Association is inviting fans to engage in online debates about some of the sport's most contested questions, with the help of artificial intelligence technology from IBM (IBM). Fans can discuss topics like the most influential players in history, and their arguments will be analyzed by IBM's Watson technology (using the same AI tool that helped a computer take on a top human debater last year). The Open typically draws around 850,000 fans over three weeks. When the USTA announced in June that the Open would be held for the first time with no fans on site, IBM, a longtime sponsor and tech partner of the Tennis Association, was tasked with finding ways to make sure all those people would still tune in.