MLB cracks down on iPad-based sports AI
MLB has taken steps to prevent teams using their league-provided dugout iPads to access sports AI systems to help manage their in-game strategy.
It seems some teams have been installing custom apps that let these iPads access sports AI systems, using this to inform them for substitutions and other in-game decisions. It seems as many as one in three teams are using their iPads to do this.
What’s reassuring about these steps is that they are a great illustration of how easy it is to disable AI access on managed devices – as that’s what these locked down, monitored, league-issued iPads are. They can’t access the internet for browsing or social media or any other kind of functions.
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Another way of looking at it is that if every team made use of AI systems then the benefits of those systems would effectively be cancelled out, and – at least in theory – the quality of games might improve.
The league seems to see this as some form of cheating, but is that correct? Is it really appropriate to regard applied AI the same way as a performance-enhancing drug? Or should use of applied tech be seen as a natural companion to the MLB’s ongoing Apple streaming partnership?
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