Unit 2 Draft

Unit 2 Draft

Sports have always depended heavily on human judgment. Coaches rely on experience, scouts trust their instincts when evaluating talent, and fans connect with the personalities and emotions of players. However, artificial intelligence is beginning to change how decisions are made in modern sports. Teams now collect massive amounts of data about player performance, movement, injuries, and strategy. Artificial intelligence systems can analyze this information much faster than humans and identify patterns that might otherwise go unnoticed. Because of this, many teams are beginning to rely on data scientists and analytics departments to help guide decisions that were once based almost entirely on instinct.

This shift raises an interesting question about the future of sports. If artificial intelligence can evaluate players and predict outcomes more accurately than humans, does that actually improve sports, or does it start to take away part of what makes sports feel real? Sports have always been about more than statistics. Fans care about emotion, unpredictability, and the personalities of players and teams. While data has always been part of sports, artificial intelligence pushes analytics much further than traditional statistics ever did.

An article from Forbes titled “How AI Is Revolutionizing Professional Sports” explains how artificial intelligence is already transforming how teams operate. According to the article, AI systems can “analyze vast amounts of player data to identify patterns and performance insights that humans might miss” (Walch). This allows teams to evaluate performance more precisely and make decisions about training, injuries, and game strategy using much more information than before. Artificial intelligence can also be used to create personalized training programs and help predict injury risks, which can give teams a competitive advantage.

Another article titled Algorithms in the War Room: What AI Means for College Sport Leaders explores how artificial intelligence is beginning to influence leadership decisions in college athletics. With factors like NIL deals, the transfer portal, and constant roster movement, managing a sports program has become increasingly complex. Because of this, many athletic departments are beginning to rely on artificial intelligence tools to help analyze players and reduce recruiting risks. The article explains that AI enables “performance analytics based on biometric, GPS, and data from wearables to enhance scouting.” In other words, technology can now measure player performance in ways that were not possible before.

At the same time, the article emphasizes that artificial intelligence should not completely replace human judgment. Instead, it should work alongside it. Leaders must understand “when to trust the model, when to override it, and how to explain both decisions with credibility” (Cairney & Burton). This idea highlights the tension between relying on data and preserving the human leadership that has traditionally guided sports organizations.

To explore this issue further, I conducted some primary research by asking friends who follow sports closely about their opinions on artificial intelligence in sports. I spoke with Jack Wilkos and Ian Cohen, who both regularly follow sports news and discuss topics like trades, draft picks, and team strategy. I asked them whether they would trust artificial intelligence to help make major decisions like player evaluations or draft picks. Both said they were comfortable with AI assisting in analyzing statistics and performance data. However, they also believed that a human decision-maker should still make the final call. One response pointed out that sports would feel strange if a machine had full control over decisions that have traditionally been made by coaches or general managers.

These responses reflect the same tension discussed in the research. Artificial intelligence clearly provides useful insights and can help teams make smarter decisions. At the same time, sports are built on emotion, personality, and unpredictability. If teams rely too heavily on algorithms, some of the human element that makes sports meaningful could be lost.

As artificial intelligence continues to develop, sports organizations will likely continue using data to gain competitive advantages. However, the challenge will be finding the right balance between using advanced analytics and preserving the human side of sports that fans care about. Artificial intelligence may become an important tool in sports decision-making, but it is unlikely to fully replace human judgment.

Sources

Walch, K. (2024). How AI is revolutionizing professional sports. Forbes.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/kathleenwalch/2024/08/16/how-ai-is-revolutionizing-professional-sports/

Cairney, J., & Burton, R. (2026). Algorithms in the war room: What AI means for college sport leaders. Sportico.

https://www.sportico.com/leagues/college-sports/2026/what-ai-means-for-college-sport-leaders-1234880280/

Comments

  1. Paige JMarch 17, 2026 at 8:14 AM

    Aiden, your introduction was super strong emphasizing the impact of AI in sports. I also think it's really strong how you really clearly broke down both sides, allowing the audience to understand the entire argument to make their own judegment. The use of your own research really helped you're claim, great work!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What I...

Image
What I Watch Aiden Jacob — January 21, 2026  — Unit 1 1) This is usually how my day starts around 9:00 AM. My roommate already has the TV on when I wake up, and it’s mostly just background noise while we get ready and talk for a bit before the day actually begins. 2)  Later in the day, this is what a lot of my screen time looks like. I’m usually sitting in a game lobby or setting things up between classes or other tasks. It’s not constant playing, but more on and off throughout the day.  3) In the afternoon, usually after classes, I’ll play for a little while. This is when I’m actually focused on the game and using it as a way to relax and stay occupied for a bit. 4)  At night, this is what I spend most of my time on. I usually play NBA 2K in MyCareer mode, and it’s become part of my nightly routine before I wind down for the day. 5) This is how the night usually ends, around 10 or 11 PM. This is usually how I wrap up my screen time for the night. Once I’m done play...
Read more

Unit 2 Portfolio

Image
Is AI Making Sports Smarter… or Less Real? Sports have always depended on human judgment. Coaches rely on experience, scouts trust their instincts, and fans connect with the personalities and emotions of players. That unpredictability is part of what makes sports feel real. Recently, though, artificial intelligence has started to change how decisions are made. Teams now collect massive amounts of data on player movement, injuries, and performance, and AI can analyze all of it faster than any human ever could. At first, this seems like a clear upgrade. If teams can make smarter decisions, avoid injuries, and improve performance, why wouldn’t they use it? But the more AI becomes involved, the more it raises a bigger question. If artificial intelligence can evaluate players and predict outcomes better than humans, does that actually improve sports, or does it start to take away what makes sports meaningful in the first place? For fans, this matters more than it might seem. Sports are not...
Read more

Unit 1 Draft

Source 1: A Pencil Shop, for Texting the Old-Fashioned Way – The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/21/fashion/a-pencil-shop-for-texting-the-old-fashioned-way.htm      In Molly Young’s article for The New York Times , “A Pencil Shop, for Texting the Old-Fashioned Way,” she writes about a small pencil shop in Manhattan to show that older tools do not automatically lose their value when new technology becomes popular. The article is not trying to argue that pencils are better than phones or computers, but instead explains why people are still drawn to something physical like writing with a pencil in a mostly digital world. Young does this by spending time inside the shop and focusing on the owner, Caroline Weaver, rather than using facts or research. Weaver’s enthusiasm for pencils helps explain why the store is still successful even though fewer people use pencils every day. The tone of the article is relaxed and observant, which makes it easy to read and feel ...
Read more