The introduction of Artificial Intelligence (AI) software has been in the headlines recently. Whether it be faking pictures, doing homework, or even making celebrity-like voices, AI has inevitably captivated the world. This leads many people to question whether AI’s introduction in sports would be a good or bad thing. Looking at the impact AI has already had on society, it is pretty apparent that AI could have a massive impact on sports. AI would surely help teams, players, and fans immensely. AI would even change the way games are officiated. But how? Even further, how will AI affect high school athletics?
AI could improve athletes’ health by looking out for possible injuries that could result from their playing style. This is done by various sensors and game film to recognize possible concussions from helmet-to-helmet collisions. AI can also predict the performance of individual athletes and teams as a whole. Such tactics are already being used in a multitude of sports leagues around the world, including the MLB. Major League Baseball uses Statcast to predict player performance in certain games. Although it has a key impact on individual players, AI also has an impact on various teams. Teams can also use AI to make mid-game decisions. Second Spectrum uses AWS as its backbone. Multiple sports leagues like the NBA, FIBA, UECL, MLS and the Premier League use a Second Spectrum to track player locations and advanced player statistics.
Many fans have grumbled against unfair calls in such games. The most common example can be seen in NFL games, specifically games when the Kansas City Chiefs have squeezed out a win through heavily biased calls. Many fans recall the Chiefs-Jets game in which the referees seemingly bailed Patrick Mahomes out of throwing an interception late in the 4th quarter. Many fans were against the referees’ controversial holding call. Another example from this past season occurred in the AFC championship game. A blatant pass interference was never called, once again late in the fourth quarter. This led the Chiefs to undeservingly make the Super Bowl, which they won to the disdain of many fans. It can be used for ball tracking, making close calls, or catching blatant cheating. Sophomore Aleks Paskiewicz remarks, “It [AI] can easily make difficult calls and leave no room for discrepancies. It will remove human error and bias.”
Professional leagues agree with Paskiewicz and have already started implementing AI into the world of sports. In the 2022 World Cup, AI was used for better ball and player tracking through various sensors and cameras. In the 2019 Artistic World Championships, AI aided judges by converting movements into numbers. Boxing prevents cheating by using Jabbr’s DeepStrike Technology to look out for illegal moves. Many questions arise with AI integration in sports officiating, especially with AI bias towards certain teams. However, if the software is developed and constantly improved by the leagues it is used in, it can become a powerful tool in helping call close and important games.
Implementing some AI features can improve high school athletics and player safety. Key components of AWS or other softwares can be placed in helmets, pads, or wrists of players, and can alert coaches and trainers if a player must undergo concussion protocol. Paskiewicz said, “Using AI technology will be better in high school athletics as it will be easier to detect dangerous injuries such as concussion which aren’t easy to diagnose in the heat of the moment.”
AI is vital in high school athletics when it comes to player safety, but it also has other uses in the realm of athletics. However, AI implementation will probably be very costly and will stress the budgets of many schools. As of current, Riddel helmets that have concussion sensors implanted in them cost $425 per helmet, and an additional cost of $200 for the team tablet that alerts coaches about possible concussions. Saint Viator has about 50 players on the varsity roster, so the total price for just the varsity team would be $21,450. The AWS Machine Learning— which powers Second Spectrum and Nex Gen Stats— varies in price & product but charges per hour of streaming, per data used, and additional analysis costs. This will quickly add up to a huge sum of money. Until then, the major leagues will continue to serve as an example of what happens when computer meets sport.
