How Artificial Intelligence is changing sport in more ways than you could imagine

Artificial intelligence's usage is growing in our everyday lives, for some, it will be affecting how they work already. For others, it may be only a matter of time before the changes are coming...

Alex Bonnet, an expert in machine learning has claimed A.I. will, "increase the standard," the standard of sport, according to an article by The Independent.

The quotes from Bonnet continue: "Through the fact there are more powerful models that can do more interesting things, companies will find new techniques and applications for AI in sport. There is going to be a boost in the kind of things that are possible because of the increase of exposure." Essentially, the more data is given to A.I. and machine learning tools, the better they will get.

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Those statements make a lot of sense, but they are broad strokes at this point, what we are trying to answer is exactly how A.I. will improve sports, not whether it will. So let's dive a little deeper.

Some teams have been using computers to help scout players since the 60s, with the Dallas Cowboys under the stewardship of general manager Gil Brandt being a data pioneer, but these days AI can do the work for you, cross-referencing thousands of data points to find the best players for your team.

AI is becoming so powerful, some teams are using it to map the ‘ideal’ player for each position. By tracking body movements, AI is able to predict which players are most likely to be successful moving forward.

The tools teams use for scouting can also be applied to their own players, if a player is regularly under or over-performing, the AI will be able to work out exactly what has changed, and often why it has as well.

If every player’s movements are tracked, AI will know what their ‘ideal’ body composition and movements look like, if there are changes, this could be a sign an injury will occur and teams can prevent this before any damage is done. "AI-driven player analytics are also pivotal in injury risk assessment," per Dr. Ayesha Khanna, writing for Forbes.

If a player does get injured, the biometric data the AI has gathered can be used to create personalised rehab plans to give the athlete the best possible chance to recover.

Most sports use some sort of computer model to plan their games these days, but with AI, they can filter in more and more information and provide much more detailed game scenarios, including how their players match up skill-wise against their opponents. The more data the better.

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Even the very best teams have some weakness to exploit, AI will allow opponents to find that and hopefully, for them, exploit them. These could be such niche areas of the game, it would be nearly impossible for a human to spot, but AI’s ability to scan millions of data points in seconds gives anyone the chance to find that chink in the armor.

For a lot of sports squad rotation is as important over the course of a season as anything else. AI will be able to create plans to ensure each player stays healthy and fresh, but also it can give you the best matchups against the opponent.

A lot of sports already rely on some form of video replay to assist the on-field referees or umpires, but with the help of AI, the on-field judges may become redundant. AI will be able to work out the decision almost instantly, whether it is a strike in baseball or an offside in soccer, there is no more human error, just cold hard facts.

Given the amount of coverage sports get these days, fans are becoming more and more knowledgeable, AI will be able to take that even further, providing real-time advanced stats to give context to what is going on on the pitch. We have seen this already with Amazon’s Thursday Night Football “X-Ray” technology. "AI boosts fan engagement through personalized communication," per Dr. Ayesha Khanna

For instance, oftentimes fans have questions about what they are watching, with AI, they will be able to get real-time answers, broadcasters, or the teams themselves, can provide chatbots that use AI to provide answers to any questions the fans may have regarding the game.

Whilst most stadiums are very safe these days, there are still issues around ticket touts and fraud, AI will be able to use facial recognition to allow entry, blocking the illegal secondary market.

For many fans, half the fun of going to sports is to have a couple of drinks and get some, usually unhealthy, stadium food. AI can be used to ensure each concession stand is correctly stocked and staffed, it should even be able to direct fans to the nearest available toilet!

Sport is such a huge part of modern culture, often the most viewed shows on television and attracting millions of fans to games each year, Forbes claim there are 57.5 million U.S. viewers of sport digitally per month. Part of the fun is not knowing the outcomes, unpredictability is the lifeblood of sport, and AI could sanitise this, creating a world of uninjurable athletes who know whether they are going to win or lose before the game even starts.

Artificial intelligence is one of the great wonders of the modern world, and if used carefully can greatly enhance how sport is played, but we must be careful to ensure the fun still remains and we don’t lose the pure joy that comes from sport.

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