With the rise of Artificial intelligence, there are many positive aspects, but there are also many moral and ethical issues. In a professional sporting context, Artificial intelligence is a very new construct. Coaches across a range of sports are relying on computing technologies to create more specific feedback channels to use with their athletes. It has opened new doors to how we learn and it has enabled coaches to communicate with their athletes like never before.
Artificial intelligence has the ability to amplify human effectiveness but it also can threaten human capabilities. There is still a lot we do not know about the technology and we are learning new things from it every day. Artificial intelligence is quickly becoming the new driving force behind sports performance and entertainment delivery. Feedback in professional sports has and is heading in the direction of a digital format. Within this reliance of A.I, is the human race getting lazy? Is A.I leaving little to no chance for human interaction?
Will Artificial Intelligence Replace Coaches?
An article I found discusses concerns around artificial intelligence stating it may, in fact, threaten the survival of humanity, raising concerns about the ability for this computerised technology to become super-intelligent (Dietterich, T, & Horvitz, E, 2015). In a professional sporting context, this idea may be concerning to coaches as artificial intelligence could potentially have the capability to provide more effective and efficient feedback resources and have the ability to go above and beyond anything a coach could ever do, in regard to locating statistics and data to help athletes.
Computing technologies have been doing the hard yards in the form of data analysis for a few decades now. An example of this can be found through artificial intelligences use of notational analysis. A notational analysis is the analysis of movement, technical and tactical evaluation, and statistical compilation (James, 2006). This technology is being used across a broad range of different sports such as NFL and Soccer. The idea of the technology is to analyse different parts of an athletes performance by using codes to compare data from specific events in the past. This technology gives sports teams a competitive edge over other teams. This ability to retrieve stored data at any given time is humanly impossible. Will coaches begin to be undervalued by their athletes due to the ability of A.I in comparison? Would there even be a need for human interaction in providing feedback for professional athletes?
Another example I know from my competitive years of swimming, which is also highlighted in my swimming section, is the introduction of the Electronic Timing Pads. This technology eliminated the need for human timekeepers and replaced them with touchpads. This meant people weren’t needed in that position anymore. Artificial intelligence can easily retain race information, making it a quicker, more accurate source of information for events and feedback analysis. The rise of A.I could potentially leave coaches out of jobs, and result in professional athletes communicating solely with computing technologies, rather than human to human interaction to receive feedback of performance.
Other issues facing Artificial Intelligence
Privacy of data:
This could include an athlete’s private information such as health data and sports performance being leaked and shared to their competitors.
Finance:
How is it fair for countries with a lower socio-economic status to keep up with the bigger countries if the larger countries have all this technology to benefit their athlete’s performance? This aspect of who controls Artificial intelligence and who can afford artificial intelligence would affect a team or athlete greatly in regard to international competitions such as world cups or the Olympics.
When or if A.I is a coach of a team, who receives the money when they win? Does Artificial Intelligence such as a robot get a salary?
Artificial Intelligence used in professional sporting teams may be a money saver by not employing and having to pay for human labour, such as coaches and staff. This saves money and cuts costs for professional companies and teams.
Regulating Sports:
Making sure there are rules and regulations in place for the use of devices and technology in sports. This is important as it regulates the fairness of teams and players in professional sports, making sure there are rules and laws in play to protect each player. An example of this can include the use of smartwatches in competition. Some smartwatches are banned in professional competition as you are not allowed to wear anything else but specific uniform, i.e swimming only FINA approved suit in racing.
When making guidelines for Artificial Intelligence, each sport would be different. It would be important when creating guidelines to first acknowledge the differences within each field of sport, this would then allow you to create rules and regulations that would work for each context.
To help with the implementation of this technology, there should be long and short term rules in place. This is because as humans evolve, so shall the technology we use. The rules should also evolve with this motion, to keep up with the latest trends and issues that may arise. Just as ethical values are installed in our laws, ethical practices for artificial intelligence are needed, as it will provide order. The guidelines and laws relating to artificial intelligence should primarily reflect moral, ethical, political and economical global standards, so each and every aspect of its technology is conforming to a standard of what is right and good.
Artificial Intelligence and Feedback in Professional Sports 