A new peer-reviewed article explores how artificial intelligence could reshape anti-doping — and why transparency, athlete rights, and procedural safeguards must evolve just as quickly as the technology itself.

IPSEI is pleased to feature a new scholarly publication addressing one of the most consequential emerging issues in sport integrity: the growing role of artificial intelligence in anti-doping, and the legal and ethical safeguards that must keep pace with it.

Published in Law. Human. Environment, a Scopus-indexed journal, the article entitled “Artificial intelligence in the fight against doping: Between breakthrough and ethical and legal dilemma” was co-authored by Dr. Tahmina Taghi-zada, Chief Executive Officer of the Azerbaijan National Anti-Doping Agency (AMADA), and Dr. Rufat Efendiyev, Deputy CEO of AMADA and Founder and Director of IPSEI.

The article examines the growing role of artificial intelligence in anti-doping systems and highlights its potential to improve anomaly detection, strengthen risk-based monitoring, support more targeted testing, and enhance the analysis of biological and performance-related data. At the same time, it makes clear that technological advancement alone is not sufficient.

Its central argument is that, for AI to play a legitimate role in anti-doping, its use must be firmly grounded in transparency, accountability, explainability, non-discrimination, data protection, and procedural fairness.

The publication analyses the legal and regulatory dimensions of this issue in the context of the Artificial Intelligence Strategy of the Republic of Azerbaijan for 2025–2028, approved by Presidential Decree No. 530 of 19 March 2025, the World Anti-Doping Code and related International Standards, as well as the Council of Europe Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law (CETS No. 225), adopted in 2024.

According to the authors, one of the defining governance challenges in the years ahead will be ensuring that increasingly powerful analytical tools do not outpace the safeguards required to protect athlete rights.

The article also outlines several priorities for the responsible use of artificial intelligence in anti-doping. These include human-centred and hybrid decision-making models, multilateral governance and ethical auditing, and stronger safeguards for standardisation and data integrity — all aimed at ensuring that innovation strengthens, rather than weakens, legitimacy.

At the same time, the authors stress that significant risks remain unresolved. These include algorithmic bias, limited explainability, insufficient mechanisms for challenging AI-supported decisions, privacy concerns related to sensitive athlete data, and widening inequality in access to advanced technologies.

For IPSEI, this publication matters not only because of the topic itself, but because it helps define a field that is still taking shape globally. The future of anti-doping will not be determined by technology alone. It will also be shaped by the standards, safeguards, and governance choices that determine how technology is used.

Commenting on the publication, Dr. Taghi-zada said: “Artificial intelligence creates powerful new opportunities to strengthen anti-doping, particularly by enhancing analytical capacity, improving risk assessment, and enabling more informed monitoring. However, its legitimacy will depend entirely on whether its use remains firmly anchored in ethical principles, legal safeguards, and full respect for the rights of athletes.”

Dr. Efendiyev added: “It is becoming increasingly clear that artificial intelligence will form part of the future architecture of anti-doping. As the global anti-doping system places greater strategic emphasis on anti-doping data and artificial intelligence, it becomes even more important to ensure that this transition is governed responsibly. Otherwise, the system’s capabilities may advance faster than the trust and legitimacy needed to sustain them.”

This publication contributes to the evolving international discourse at the intersection of anti-doping, sport integrity, digital governance, and human rights. It highlights a central challenge for the coming years: ensuring that innovation strengthens, rather than undermines, trust, legitimacy, and fairness in sport.

As this field continues to evolve, IPSEI will continue to highlight ideas, research, and frameworks that help connect innovation with integrity.

Read the article here: https://doi.org/10.31548/law/1.2026.174

Suggested citation:
Taghi-zada, T., & Efendiyev, R. (2026). Artificial intelligence in the fight against doping: Between breakthrough and ethical and legal dilemma. Law. Human. Environment, 17(1), 174–189. doi: 10.31548/law/1.2026.174