Should AI replace VAR?

[Marvelockg]

Thier add been series of positive changes in the world of soccer that has made the game of soccer to become fair and professional to the extent it is now, the introduction of goal line technology, auto offside dictation, VAR and lots more have contributed in reducing the extent of error committed by both the referee and lines men as a result of Thier impafect human nature. But Thier had been limitations of these t technologies  mostly expecially the var as at the end of the day, it's still human being that do the VAR jobs so I'm wondering if an AI can be created to carry out the job of the VAR.

More like, the AI can auto dictate whatever foul or error that was commited by a player and just gives a final verdict that's obviously going to be unbais

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1715280212

[Gormicsta]

Thier add been series of positive changes in the world of soccer that has made the game of soccer to become fair and professional to the extent it is now, the introduction of goal line technology, auto offside dictation, VAR and lots more have contributed in reducing the extent of error committed by both the referee and lines men as a result of Thier impafect human nature. But Thier had been limitations of these t technologies  mostly expecially the var as at the end of the day, it's still human being that do the VAR jobs so I'm wondering if an AI can be created to carry out the job of the VAR.

More like, the AI can auto dictate whatever foul or error that was commited by a player and just gives a final verdict that's obviously going to be unbais

AI powered VAR may seem to be the future and the solution to eradicating human error from the game, but we must also understand that AI powered VAR could also have its disadvantages.
One issue that has already been raised about AI powered VAR is the potential for it to make the game too clinical. What I mean by this is that, some people are afraid that if every decision on the soccer game is made by an AI, it could take away some of the human emotions as well as the excitement from the game. Although imperfect, but there's still something very special about the human refereeing, like when a referee makes a questionable penalty call to a team that's been fighting hard and the spectators goes wild or when the referee chooses not to award a Penalty that he's supposed to have given and the crowd is outraged, for this reason, people argue strongly that AI powered VAR would somehow take away the fun of the game.

[Oshosondy]

Something like this have been discussed before Will AI Take over the Position of VAR?

More like, the AI can auto dictate whatever foul or error that was commited by a player and just gives a final verdict that's obviously going to be unbais

This should not be the reason AI should replace VAR, but VAR can make use of AI to make there decision more accurate. You can read what some people posted on the thread that I provided the link to know about their opinion on this.

[criptoevangelista]

I even commented about VAR in the discussion of the world cup, I still think that they are going to end sports by putting VAR and AI in everything.  These tools should always be used only as auxiliary tools. There will come a point where the sport will lose its for being so robotic.

After all, Maradona's hand of God goal today with the help of VAR would never have happened, I don't want to get into whether it was illegal, but it became one of the greatest memories in the history of football.

[Wexnident]

I'd say both? I might've said something different beforehand prior to previous discussions but recently I've seen a lot of AI make mistakes here and there so I reckon both human and AI-assisted VAR could potentially improve the accuracy of the judgment at the fastest speed possible. Ofc at some point AI may be accurate enough by itself but by then I reckon we'd have new and better methods like being able to pinpoint the point of impact on the ground to make reviewing and judging it 100% accurate.

I hardly doubt human intervention would completely disappear though. That's just something that I reckon would invite a lot of anger from the people, both players and fans alike.

[Franctoshi]

Something like this have been discussed before Will AI Take over the Position of VAR?

More like, the AI can auto dictate whatever foul or error that was commited by a player and just gives a final verdict that's obviously going to be unbais

This should not be the reason AI should replace VAR, but VAR can make use of AI to make there decision more accurate. You can read what some people posted on the thread that I provided the link to know about their opinion on this.

Exactly what AI should be used for, helping referees to make their decisions unbiased, I wouldn't like a situation where we would only rely on AI to take decisions for humans when it comes to football and this is giving too much power to the AI, and wouldn't make sense Imo, and if that happens, with time there's going to be a period when referees will no longer be needed to officiate a match and we would have AI robots in the pitch doing the job.

[Text]

AI could potentially eliminate biases and errors associated with human judgment.

There are limitations to consider like when solely relying on AI. Its algorithms are trained on data sets, bias can creep in if the data itself is biased, leading to unfair outcomes. Even with advanced AI, human oversight would likely be necessary to ensure fairness, interpret situations, and handle unexpected events.

I think, instead of a complete replacement, perhaps AI can augment VAR by analyzing multiple camera angles, highlighting potential infringements for the human referee to review, and calculating the likelihood of a foul or offside, aiding the referee's decision-making.

[_act_]

I'd say both? I might've said something different beforehand prior to previous discussions but recently I've seen a lot of AI make mistakes here and there so I reckon both human and AI-assisted VAR could potentially improve the accuracy of the judgment at the fastest speed possible. Ofc at some point AI may be accurate enough by itself but by then I reckon we'd have new and better methods like being able to pinpoint the point of impact on the ground to make reviewing and judging it 100% accurate.

The more the time goes, the more AI are developed with better accuracy. It would be good if AI is used in sport for something like this. But humans can not be substituted for AI. Just like bankers use hand to count money in the past but now using counter to count money.

I hardly doubt human intervention would completely disappear though. That's just something that I reckon would invite a lot of anger from the people, both players and fans alike.

Let us say AI is a machine. Humans will use the machine to achieve good results. So let us say AI can be used but in a way that VAR will use the AI. AI will serve as assurance instead of replacement.

[Aanuoluwatofunmi]

Thier add been series of positive changes in the world of soccer that has made the game of soccer to become fair and professional to the extent it is now, the introduction of goal line technology, auto offside dictation, VAR and lots more have contributed in reducing the extent of error committed by both the referee and lines men as a result of Thier impafect human nature. But Thier had been limitations of these t technologies  mostly expecially the var as at the end of the day, it's still human being that do the VAR jobs so I'm wondering if an AI can be created to carry out the job of the VAR.

More like, the AI can auto dictate whatever foul or error that was commited by a player and just gives a final verdict that's obviously going to be unbais

There is an extent or limit to where we can adopt the use of AI in the gambling sector, it will not make sense at all if what we are doing or introducing will be what will make people to loose interest and trust in the fairness of the gambling sectors, AI is already programmed and to an extent, we will only and always need human final judgement on any gambling occasions that has to do with giving judgement, we can actually make use of AI in other aspects but not as on everywhere we think we could easy the effort of man and complicate the whole procedures and judgement.

[Die_empty]

Thier add been series of positive changes in the world of soccer that has made the game of soccer to become fair and professional to the extent it is now, the introduction of goal line technology, auto offside dictation, VAR and lots more have contributed in reducing the extent of error committed by both the referee and lines men as a result of Thier impafect human nature. But Thier had been limitations of these t technologies  mostly expecially the var as at the end of the day, it's still human being that do the VAR jobs so I'm wondering if an AI can be created to carry out the job of the VAR.

More like, the AI can auto dictate whatever foul or error that was commited by a player and just gives a final verdict that's obviously going to be unbais

There has been a great improvement in match officiating since the introduction of the VAR technology but there is still also need to improve. We have seen some occasions where there have been some mistakes that have resulted in bad decisions in games. But the just concluded African Nations Cup proved that the introduction of this technology has caused more good than harm. The competition's officiating improved so much that errors were rare.

These AI tools are not perfect machines which means they are also prone to errors. They can suffer from technical hitches and can also suffer attacks such as viruses or hacks. The ideal option will be the combination of artificial intelligence and humans in officiating. AI tools should be used by humans to make refereeing decisions. Almost all the sectors of the world have inculcated AI in their operations.

[Spaceman1000$]

Thier add been series of positive changes in the world of soccer that has made the game of soccer to become fair and professional to the extent it is now, the introduction of goal line technology, auto offside dictation, VAR and lots more have contributed in reducing the extent of error committed by both the referee and lines men as a result of Thier impafect human nature. But Thier had been limitations of these t technologies  mostly expecially the var as at the end of the day, it's still human being that do the VAR jobs so I'm wondering if an AI can be created to carry out the job of the VAR.

More like, the AI can auto dictate whatever foul or error that was commited by a player and just gives a final verdict that's obviously going to be unbais

There is no point in bringing in AI to carry out the place of VAR,  VAR itself was brought in to assist the Referee, which to a very large extent it has done that. Human errors cannot automatically be eradicated, it will take time. beside if the errors are glaring issues of offside, foul, penalty and actions that the Referee didn't take note , VAR has to been able help call the attention of the Referee, perhaps if the football governing body insist on bringing in artificial intelligence to football to help perfect the game, they should rather work on the players to learn how to reduce their actions, especially the one's that are capable of causing harm or obstruct the free flow of the game. If they do so, they've helped to strike a balance on the side of the of the Referee and that of the players.

[Gozie51]

What I think is modification of VAR and not a total replacement of it by AI so that the game would not be made robotic in nature. VAR is more controlled by humans, that means human error is still found in it and that makes the game what it is (football is for fun guided with rules) than it has all compactment of robots which of course includes sensing and sensor which are going to be enabled by alarm 

I could imagine how many times alarms would be blaring on AI area because it sensed a fowl play, infringement and all the stoppages on the field. AI will definitely make football more boring than some critics of VAR have complained at. Hence, it AI K don't think we are never going to have the free flow football at the level we are now with var. So therefore, we can keep modifying the VAR and still allow the little human "error " to bring out the fun in football and what to discuss afterwards from a game.

I also believe that with AI we are now saying goodbye by to human officiating. There won't be any space or place for the referee or lines men. The referees can decide to be assisted by VAR to make his decision but in AI, I'm sure when the sensor sense and detects an infringement, it will also issue out command of the punishment whether penalty, freekicks - indirect or direct  , goal kick, corner, throwing etc. AI specifically means the job of the empire has been taken away and that means job lose like it is in establishments where AI have been used to replace human labour.

[EarnOnVictor]

Thier add been series of positive changes in the world of soccer that has made the game of soccer to become fair and professional to the extent it is now, the introduction of goal line technology, auto offside dictation, VAR and lots more have contributed in reducing the extent of error committed by both the referee and lines men as a result of Thier impafect human nature. But Thier had been limitations of these t technologies  mostly expecially the var as at the end of the day, it's still human being that do the VAR jobs so I'm wondering if an AI can be created to carry out the job of the VAR.

More like, the AI can auto dictate whatever foul or error that was commited by a player and just gives a final verdict that's obviously going to be unbais

Let me say that, VAR is already an AI innovation, don't think otherwise and we can't throw that away, but we can only advocate for an upgrade for better functionality. The VAR system was introduced into football due to human errors and slackness, and we would be ingrates if we entirely down-talk the efficiencies of the system even with the errors detected. It has assisted in so many matches without a single fault noticed as well, but the few ones with errors are what people often capitalise upon. However, this could be very painful as it could deny the person the 3 points needed in that match. Not to say you are not valid in this wish, but as you advocate for advancement, have you ever seen a perfect system before? That's the angle at which we should look at it, and no matter how many codes they added and subtracted, I still do not think it will be without mistakes.

This is where I believe the human efficiency in judging further should come in. It is human beings that coded the programs in the VAR, we should not expect perfection, and just like driverless cars in which billions of dollars have been spent on research and upgrades, they are susceptible to mistakes. This is more reason why they can't make it fully automated in every decision-making the way you want. What I think should be done is to have more hands to work in line with VAR to give the best and almost certain decisions in case of suspicions and disagreements.

[danadc]

AI is a new way that people are actively searching for as if it were the Holy Grail, an AI is not needed, what is needed is a series of sensors to see things correctly, the referees are human, it takes the technology to be able to do better things, I think that the VAR is not enough, it requires too many sensors to determine things better, but an AI is not yet prepared to have the consciousness of analysis.

The combination of things can be very difficult to do , this is what is needed from the Human eye and reason, a robot is not capable of making good decisions even if it has AI, because it is still a set of programs and algorithms that cannot be has been able to develop, it only has speed and the ability to answer questions and be very practical, but the logical part of AI is very difficult to generate, that is something that scientists still Lack, or they already have it and Have not thrown out.

[iv4n]

More like, the AI can auto dictate whatever foul or error that was commited by a player and just gives a final verdict that's obviously going to be unbais

To be honest I have some concerns. Will artificial intelligence really be unbiased? Can AI make mistakes? Can someone "mess around" with decisions AI makes? Too many questions here, and while there are some good points for AI to replace humans in VAR I think that people should stay in charge. I guess that AI should be included in VAR somehow, it can be used to point out some things in disputed situations, but the final decision should stay in human hands.

That's my take on AI in general, it should be used to help, but we can give an AI too much power in making final decisions. Maybe I am paranoid, but it's my opinion.

[boyptc]

I know that we're getting there with these technologies but it seems that we've been glorifying them. I understand on how these phasing of these innovations are so quick.

But these thoughts have always been there for the enthusiasts that are into it.

I'd say that, whatever it is. We're going to see the one and the other thrive or else, none or both of them will.

[Stalker22]

AI is not some magic solution for fixing all of VAR's problems.  Dont get me wrong - using AI could help make some better video review calls in soccer.  But we gotta be realistic here.  AI is only as good as what data you feed it during training and  if that data is biased or incomplete, you end up with an AI ref that makes crap calls.  Like, it might incorrectly call marginal offsides because its model never saw enough examples of tight calls going either way. 

Not saying AI and tech cant improve parts of VAR - just that it cant eliminate human error or bias from officiating entirely.  People act like AI will solve everything if we just let the bots take over.  Nah.  AI still has plenty of kinks to work out before we get there.

[btc78]

I think both humans and AI should come hand in hand in order to make the sport scene more fun and yet fair as much as possible. AI can detect minor movements or offenses yes but it could misinterpret human behavior in which an actual human may come in handy. I think AI assisted VAR can help in sports but at the end it still should be a human to recheck and make those decisions regarding the sport.

It’s important to find a fine line between innovation and consistency and now where AI has not yet been perfected, humans still have jobs to do.

[Odohu]

At the rate AI is being adopted and integrated into various areas of human endeavours,  it is a matter of time before it hits soccer and other sporting activities, after all it is all about making things better. However, such transition will take some time because VAR have to be used for sometime as a new innovation, at least until noticeable weaknesses are seen. In addition, changing an entire critical system of that nature is a long process. I believe we will get there but it will only take some time.

[SeriouslyGiveaway]

I think it's not necessary, it will reduce the inherent appeal of football. To be honest, when applying too much technology to a real sport like football, the attractiveness of the match is much reduced, the match is broken up by VAR check situations. Can you imagine how boring the game would be if AI were brought in to handle the referee's actions? And then at some point, there will be robots simulating players playing instead of real players, then we will have truly lost football.
Agree that today technology helps us a lot, but we should stop at certain technologies such as VAR, goal-line, I think such technologies are enough to support a football match. This is a sport between people, don't let machines and technology interfere too much.

[moneystery]

more precisely, it complements var technology. because it is very likely that ai technology will become more sophisticated than it is now and this will enable ai technology to improve the quality of var, such as understanding more about violations committed by players.

but the bad impact on players is that using ai technology will minimize the tricks they do, which usually escape the referee's observation. and if something intervenes in the ai program, it is very likely that there will be an error which will disrupt the course of the match. so it is possible that ai implementation can be carried out, but fifa as the world football organization needs to regulate this matter.

[Ucy]

Better to get the best VAR than use AI since it's not capable of making very complicated decisions without human guides. Besides it would cost more to equip AI.
Take a look at driverless cars powered by AI, non has been able to replace humans so far because of the complicated nature of driving cars in complicated and unpredictable environments. AI can do it faster but humans would do it with wisdom.