AI in Sports

Technology has become a fundamental part of the world and, in turn, has established a place in sports. While there are obvious benefits to leagues, teams, coaches, and other major components of sport as a whole. Today we are going to look a bit closer at AI in sports — lets dive in.

Using technology as a way to show and look at data of players can be extremely helpful as it gives an unbiased view and can even be used to show the potential of specific players based on different metrics. 

Obviously, the usage of technology is mandatory today with live streaming games, teams analyzing plays of themselves and competitors, as well as keeping track of fan activity and engagement. 

A major contributor could be linked to Moneyball and the implementation of data analysis in baseball, after the positive effects it had spread to other sports and leagues, and now it is a necessity for all organizations and franchises when it comes to decision-making. 

However, I think it is important to draw a line as a way to respect the essence of sport and the overall nature of a game. Failure to do so would lead to the inclusion of technology as a distraction instead of a tool. 

Why this matters

I say this because there are stakeholders within this industry, and the sub-group I want to focus on would be the sports betting industry and the fantasy sport industry. 

With the creation of AI in sports, it wouldn’t be a surprise if people depended on programs such as ChatGPT to help themselves decide on what it is exactly they want to bet on or use it to generate possible statistics within a game based off of the teams. 

While that wouldn’t be crossing any lines or bending any rules, it could lead to larger issues of fixing games. 

How this affects sports

Technological advances can be seen as beneficial or negative depending on the way you want to view it. And I don’t want to take away any of the positives that technology has given the sports industry or anything because there are many upsides to it such as; the usage of data analysis has been integrated into the important decision-making of teams as it can be the most objective and give raw inefficiencies within a team or plays. 

But it should be a concern for the leaders in the industry because it could lead to preventable issues. If the usage of data analysis continues, then it runs the risk of sports becoming fixed or rigged. The usage of big data in sports analytics can lead to a better understanding of team performance and fan engagement for decision-making but should be taken with a grain of salt. 

In turn, this could negatively impact the fans’ interest and the connection felt between a fan and their team. Not only would the fans be affected, but the people whose whole job is to analyze the data and understand trends would be without a role because they would be replaced by machines.

Conclusion on AI in Sports

Overall I hope the main takeaway from this is that I am not against the implementation of technology in sports. As long as this comes with impactful benefits, improves efficiency, and saves money, then there is no reason to overlook it, but if these benefits are not perceivable, then it may be time to put a pause on it. 

Revenue is a major component of the sports industry, but if there is a hyperfocus on making profit rather than improving the game itself, it can actually slow down the process of evolving in the industry. 

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