Should AI Work Alongside Human Referees?

[joeperry]

I've been watching local volleyball and there's a scenario where the a referee made a wrong call. It got me thinking, now that AI is everywhere, is it possible for AI to replace human referees to reduce bias and avoid questionable or wrong calls? For regular fans, it's frustrating to see a questionable calls but for most bettors, one wrong call could mean losing money.

If I am not mistaken, AI are already beting used in some sports such as tennis for line calls and football for offside decisions withe the help of VAR. Right now, I realized that replacing a human referees are not completely possible. Instead, AI could work alongside them. For instance, calling a foul in basketball or other contact sports, giving penalty due to the behaviour of the player, etc. requires human judgement and AI alone won't be able to determine something like that.

So my questions is, if AI could reduce incorrect calls and make decision more consistent, wouldn't that make sports betting and the sports itself fairer? What you guys think?

[Futurexxx]

As you have already said, AI assistant is already been use to assist the referee in football and in most sport, but replacing humans is what I disagree with because it can be easily gamed or cheated, since such machine is programmed in a certain way.

One thing we humans are very good at is to game any system that is programmed, so it would be a very bad idea to be officiating a game that is an emotional game with something that has no emotions or psychological thinking, the results wouldn't ends well.

[Ziskinberg]

That is already been implemented in the Premier League, but they are not replacing human referees with AI, I mean how would it work, the AI's job is just to review and ensure that the calls are right.

No matter what I don't think human referees will be replaced in the future because when the game calls are too accurate it will make the game boring, refs are there sometimes to influence the game and make it interesting.

For example this is just my theory in a best-of-7 NBA Finals series, a team that is too dominant could sweep their opponent which would not benefit the league, they want to extend the series so they can make more money, so no way they will put AI to do the officiating, as an assistant possibly but not as the main referee.

[Sim_card]

If you look back into the era when there was no VAR for football matches, there were lot of wrong decisions made by referee that affected the outcome of some games and that's why human isn't perfect because we are bound to make errors. But after the new development of using VAR, it has really helped a lot to make final decisions by the referee without being biased. I have watched matches that the referee with make a wrong call and after review by VAR, he corrects himself. VAR has made football matches fairer since it was introduced in matches.

[Swordsoffreedom]

Sports industry is already moving in direction you are thinking of.

Hawk Eye Live in tennis or Semi Automated Offside Technology used in South Africa and at this year's FIFA World Cup these are entirely based on AI and computer vision. These are precise, real time decisions being made without any human intervention.
In volleyball's challenge system or in line calls for cricket and tennis as you said, AI is 100% successful because these involve binary decision.

I have heard some of my friends are talking about that use of AI for decision making in game might actually ruin the thrill and excitement of that game. But imo for the sake of betting and fair play, we should accept this robotic level of perfection.

[B2Z]

I've been watching local volleyball and there's a scenario where the a referee made a wrong call. It got me thinking, now that AI is everywhere, is it possible for AI to replace human referees to reduce bias and avoid questionable or wrong calls? For regular fans, it's frustrating to see a questionable calls but for most bettors, one wrong call could mean losing money.

If I am not mistaken, AI are already beting used in some sports such as tennis for line calls and football for offside decisions withe the help of VAR. Right now, I realized that replacing a human referees are not completely possible. Instead, AI could work alongside them. For instance, calling a foul in basketball or other contact sports, giving penalty due to the behaviour of the player, etc. requires human judgement and AI alone won't be able to determine something like that.

So my questions is, if AI could reduce incorrect calls and make decision more consistent, wouldn't that make sports betting and the sports itself fairer? What you guys think?

AI has made human work much easier and many tasks that are difficult and time-consuming for humans are being done accurately by AI in a short time, but that does not mean that all human tasks can be done by AI. No matter what you say about football, volleyball or cricket, I think there is definitely a need for a physical referee or umpire. Yes, referees or umpires can make maximum use of AI to make decisions accurately, but it does not mean that an entire match will be conducted by AI without any human.

A few days ago, I saw a video where a robot was put on a running track and I saw that the robot was losing control while taking turns. So in terms of decisions, I think AI can be used to help but AI cannot be completely relied on.

[free-bit.co.in]

is it possible for AI to replace human referees to reduce bias and avoid questionable or wrong calls?

I don’t think this will ever happen. And it shouldn't be like this.

You are right that AI is still not quite up to mark when it comes to understanding intent and behavior of player in contact sport. For instance, in basketball determining whether any foul is charging or blocking foul isn't just matter of following the rulebook, it also require situational judgment. Similarly in football, any impartial referee is essential to distinguish between natural handball and intentional one.

AI does not understand human emotion or psychology of game. Therefore, rather than replacing referee with AI, as you said hybrid model like human + AI is most logical approach.

[TedMosby]

[...]
So my questions is, if AI could reduce incorrect calls and make decision more consistent, wouldn't that make sports betting and the sports itself fairer? What you guys think?

It does make games fairer, but I think completely replacing human referees with AI in real games would never happen. AI will always be treated as a tool to make human jobs easier before leaving the final decision making to humans.

For things such as line calls, offside decisions, goal calls, and others related to yes/no decisions, AI would be so helpful. But for things that fall into a grey area, such as fouls that involve physical contact or other events that are still debatable, humans are still needed. If AI made the decisions for these kinds of events, then players might easily exploit the AI decision making process. Human referees are still needed. Also, I think one of the things that makes sports interesting is the debate and drama after a decision is made.

Sports video games, such as FIFA or eFootball, are the easiest examples of AI taking the role of decision maker. We often see or experience weird decisions by the in-game AI referee.

[5W-KILO]

As you have already said, AI assistant is already been use to assist the referee in football and in most sport, but replacing humans is what I disagree with because it can be easily gamed or cheated, since such machine is programmed in a certain way.

One thing we humans are very good at is to game any system that is programmed, so it would be a very bad idea to be officiating a game that is an emotional game with something that has no emotions or psychological thinking, the results wouldn't ends well.

Do you know how clear it will be if a robot AI is turned into a referee and start cheating? I can't count how many times it's been detected that a human referee is cheating, taking a side more than the other, it's not something that can be hiding even if the AI is very advanced.

An AI referree isn't going to do his job in front of other AI robots, it's going to do the job in front of humans and yes they don't have emotions but that doesn't mean humans can't figure them out on a stadium with millions of sport fans.

If something is wrong then something is wrong, and if the judgement from the AI robot ref isn't adding up people will raise alarm, like come on, this is people, humans we are talking about, it will be very glaring.

[Localhostspeed]

If I am not mistaken, AI are already beting used in some sports such as tennis for line calls and football for offside decisions withe the help of VAR. Right now, I realized that replacing a human referees are not completely possible. Instead, AI could work alongside them. For instance, calling a foul in basketball or other contact sports, giving penalty due to the behaviour of the player, etc. requires human judgement and AI alone won't be able to determine something like that.

So my questions is, if AI could reduce incorrect calls and make decision more consistent, wouldn't that make sports betting and the sports itself fairer? What you guys think?

Too much perfections kills the fun of sports. Hope you know that ever since they introduced VAR, the football used to be in the early 2000s is not the same today, a lot has changed. There is advantage to it, many footballers has lied and wrongs has been made but I think it's fair of you let VAR alone do the job than introduce AI. I'm telling if they allowed AI to be introduced with refree, it will take decades for many players to adjust to the style of AI.

You must have seen the latest ball they did during the world cub that has a special technology inside, that alone cause havoc within the football federation but they just had to do it since world cup is a general tournament that involves many countries. If AI are introduced for referees, only few leagues will take it and I'm sure alot of people are going to over react to the decision.

[GxSTxV]

So my questions is, if AI could reduce incorrect calls and make decision more consistent, wouldn't that make sports betting and the sports itself fairer? What you guys think?

I can say that AI has already done great things for sports in general, helping referees to take faster decisions than before, more accurate judgements and saved time for teams especially in Football as one of my favorite sports. I read an official article before about the use of it in other sports where it can give an instant insight instead of waiting minutes to verify the camera.

However, the human touch is always required for the final decision when it comes to applying the rules, you cannot satisfy both sides. We have certainly seen this happening now in football, while some people are saying that VAR and referees are helping some teams while they sabotage the others.

Overall, in sport betting generally it doesn’t matter how fair the game is as long as there is no refund if you lose your match due to any reason, it’s always a final outcome.

[Fiatless]

So my questions is, if AI could reduce incorrect calls and make decision more consistent, wouldn't that make sports betting and the sports itself fairer? What you guys think?

Introducing so much technology into sports makes it mechanical to me. When bots control the games, humans may end up acting like robots. Using AI to improve the process is good, but it should be under the close supervision and judgment of humans. In football, some VAR decisions are just annoying because human judgment was not applied.

Sports are performed by humans whose behavior cannot be predicted. I don't think AI can make perfectly accurate and consistent decisions about a human. Sportsmen should not be judged based on their actions alone, but on the circumstances. Issues should be handled on a case-by-case basis and not by a machine.

[DanWalker]

if AI could reduce incorrect calls and make decision more consistent, wouldn't that make sports betting and the sports itself fairer?

Perhaps that is partially true.

Positive aspect of this is that it might completely eliminate human bias. Things like referee changing  decision due to pressure from home crowd or acting out of personal spite, will no longer occur. This will help reduce some of frustration bettors feel when they lose money due to any incorrect call.

But it also has a dark side and flaws.
Have you heard of the Black Box problem? you know, AI runs on algorithm.
If there are any flaws in data used to train any AI or if any technical glitch occurs then it could lead to erroneous decision, with no human on hand to explain why they happened!

[Ronsbit]

AI is already in the sports picture. Although AI can not replace the referee which I believe the governing body would never agree or subscribe to but it could be used to reduce some wrong calls which already has been mentioned by OP and it has been very helpful in making good and sound decisions void of bias and sentiments or ignorance as the case may be.
I support the use of AI but not really to take the position of the referees on the pitch as that would mean taking away Jobs from people who work professionally to earn a living for themselves and family. So the idea of AI to replace ref's is a no no brainer for me. The refs should be allowed to precide over sports activities and AI used as a support for event's or occurrences out of their sights for a fair and accurate judgement

[TheUltraElite]

I dont mind AI assistance but I would not like to see the human referee replaced by a robot.

Continue down this line and very soon we will be cheering to robots playing and not humans. Make that a separate genre and I will make sure to never visit that game.

I think the referees who are there well experienced and their experience counts against the fees they take. Let them use assistant services but the final decision should come from their heads, not a robot.

[swogerino]

I think beside VAR and referee body cam we don't need more of such assistance with AI. Yesterday I was watching the game of Groningen vs Ajax because I love every type of football game and a horrendous decision was made by the referee, even after seeing VAR clearly it was a penalty for Groningen and the referee said it is not a penalty. In such case I don't know what AI would have done more to give the correct decision in such event as I doubt that referee had anything else in mind except not giving the penalty.

[SPIDERMAN008]

If any decision can be made accurately using AI, then of course I think AI based technology can be used as an assistant to human referees in all types of sports. This will make it possible to make accurate decisions and in the betting industry, the betting results of gamblers will be more accurate.

But I think that any decision should be made quickly through any technology included in sports betting. Especially in the World Cup, the goal that was later canceled in the Argentina vs Egypt match was decided a little late. At that time, many gamblers had different reactions. Many of those who bet in favor of Egypt may have also chosen the cashout option at that particular time. But just after some time, when the goal was canceled, Argentina started a comeback and later Argentina won the match.

So in some cases, if it takes longer to make a decision, the event may turn out differently. Although this will also depend entirely on luck. Even if it takes longer to make a decision, correct and reliable decisions should be made. Still, I think it's better to make decisions a little quicker, especially in football matches.

[Mr. Magkaisa]

I believe that AI support/assistance for the ref will be a good call and will have a better match calling. In Basketball, There's a challenge call for the coaches but sometimes even you can see in a lear video the ref will stand on their call.
Unlike in Tennis and other sports its a matter of line and ball. So I think AI judegement on the video will help for a better call. This is for replay and challenge only,

[gracreavix]

I think we all forget how the phrase is always written at the buttom of the screen of your phone. It says AI makes mistakes, please verify. Even with that we tend to trust AI so much that we do not verify. That aside.

If it is later implemented to be used alongside referees, it means we will still need to cross references with the referee too to come with a solid decision when needed.

[danherbias07]

But it ruins the decision-making of a human. Then, there's the pride of being a referee.

You are correct about the many missed calls or wrong calls by many referees, but those bad calls can also be for the benefit of the other. It means fans from that side might also be happy with bad calls, and they will just be silent about it.
The "Coach's Challenge" is what the NBA did. Before it was passed, it took a long time. A coach can call a timeout and challenge the referee's call, and if the coach gets it right, he will gain another challenge. I think this is the fairest they can get to avoid stepping on the pride of the referees. AIs may have perfect calls, but for me, it takes away the fun of having a referee decide the call.