Unit 2 Portfolio

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 just about efficiency or perfect decisions. They are about emotion, risk, and human error. If AI starts to control too much, the game itself could start to feel different. This is no longer just about technology. It is about whether sports stay human.

Because of this, AI should be used as a tool, not a replacement for human judgment.

How AI Is Changing Decisions in Sports

An article from Forbes explains how artificial intelligence is already transforming sports at a high level. According to Kathleen Walch, AI has the ability to “quickly analyze large amounts of data, spot patterns and outliers, and make real-time predictions” (Walch, 2024). At first, this sounds like a simple advantage, but it actually represents a shift in control. If AI is identifying patterns and making predictions in real time, then decision-making is no longer just based on human observation, it is being guided by a system that operates faster and more consistently than any person can.

This matters because it changes what coaches and scouts actually do. Instead of evaluating players based on instinct and experience, they begin to rely on recommendations generated by AI. Over time, this can shift authority away from people and toward the data itself. Even if a coach disagrees with the model, it becomes harder to ignore something that is statistically more accurate. In that sense, AI is not just assisting decision-making, it is quietly replacing parts of it.

Walch also explains that AI can analyze “each player’s performance on a variety of different factors such as speed, gait patterns, and endurance” (Walch, 2024). This shows how detailed player evaluation has become. While this level of insight can improve performance and prevent injuries, it also reduces players to measurable variables. Traits like leadership, confidence, or the ability to perform under pressure are harder to quantify, which means they may become less important in decision-making.

At the same time, the benefits are real. AI can optimize training, enhance strategy, and even improve fan experience. But that advantage comes with a tradeoff. When decisions are increasingly driven by data and prediction, the human side of sports becomes less central. The more teams rely on AI for accuracy, the more they risk losing the unpredictability and emotion that make sports meaningful in the first place.

How AI Is Discovering Athletes That Human Scouts Miss | Richard Felton-Thomas | TED

This video shows how teams are already using AI to influence decisions like injuries, scouting, and strategy. In the talk, Richard Felton-Thomas explains that AI allows talent to be identified from “anywhere in the world,” expanding scouting beyond traditional systems (Felton-Thomas, 2025). At first, this seems like a clear improvement because it creates more opportunity and reduces bias in how athletes are discovered.

However, this also changes what it means to evaluate talent. If AI is responsible for identifying potential based on data from videos and measurable performance, then human intuition becomes less central to the process. Instead of a scout recognizing something unique about a player, that recognition is increasingly coming from a system. This shifts the role of decision-making away from people and toward technology.

Seeing this visually makes it clear that AI is not just supporting the game, it is actively reshaping how decisions are made. While it can make scouting more efficient and fair, it also raises the question of whether something is lost when human judgment is no longer the primary way talent is recognized.

The Problem With Relying Only on Data

One concern with relying too much on data is that it can miss the human side of decision-making. In The Atlantic, Ross Andersen explains how AI is becoming extremely effective at predicting outcomes, noting that AI may soon be “better than us at divining the future of our entire messy, contingent world” (Andersen, 2026). This quote is important because it shows how far AI has progressed. If machines can predict outcomes better than humans, then the natural next step is to trust them more than people.

But that is exactly where the problem begins. Prediction is not the same as understanding. AI can recognize patterns, but it cannot fully understand context. In sports, context is everything. A player’s confidence, leadership, or response to pressure cannot be fully captured by data. If teams rely only on prediction models, they risk making decisions that are technically correct but incomplete.

This challenges the idea that more data always leads to better decisions. Some of the most important parts of sports cannot be measured, and ignoring that could change how players are valued entirely.

How AI Is Changing Recruiting and Leadership

Another article from Sportico explains how AI is influencing leadership decisions, especially in college sports. The article argues that in today’s environment, “relying on human judgment alone is now inherently risky” (Cairney & Burton, 2026). This quote matters because it shows how much the role of human decision-making has changed. In the past, experience and instinct were seen as strengths in sports leadership. Here, they are framed as a risk. That shift is important because it shows that AI is not just being added as a helpful tool. It is changing the standard for what counts as a smart decision in the first place.

The article also explains that AI allows programs to use performance analytics based on biometric data, GPS tracking, and information from wearables to improve scouting. This kind of technology goes far beyond traditional statistics. It measures how players move, how their bodies respond, and how consistent they are over time. While this can reduce uncertainty, it also changes what gets valued. Instead of focusing on a player’s overall feel for the game or other less measurable qualities, programs may begin to rely more heavily on data points that seem objective. That can make decisions look more precise, but it can also narrow the way talent is understood.

The article highlights an even deeper issue when it says AI “redistributes power” and changes “who gets to speak with authority in the recruiting room” (Cairney & Burton, 2026). This is one of the most important ideas in the article because it moves beyond performance and into leadership. AI is not just helping people make decisions more efficiently. It is changing who has influence over those decisions. If data analysts, models, and prediction systems begin to carry more authority than coaches or scouts, then leadership itself starts to look different. The final decision becomes less about experience and more about which kind of knowledge is trusted most.

At the same time, the authors make it clear that AI should not fully replace leadership. They argue that decision-makers must know when to trust the model and when to override it. That reinforces the idea that AI should support human judgment, not replace it. If leaders stop questioning the data, then decision-making becomes automatic instead of thoughtful.

What Fans Actually Think

To explore this further, I conducted primary research by reaching out to two friends who closely follow sports, Jack Wilkos and Ian Cohen. Since we regularly talk about trades, draft picks, and team decisions, they were a strong audience for understanding how fans actually feel about AI being involved in the game.

Both said they were comfortable with AI helping analyze performance and statistics. That part made sense to them, especially when it comes to improving efficiency or reducing mistakes. However, neither of them trusted AI to make final decisions like draft picks or trades. One response said it would feel “weird” if a machine had full control over something that has always been based on human judgment.

This response is important because it shows a clear boundary. Fans may accept AI as a tool, but not as the decision-maker. Even if AI is more accurate, people still care about who is making the decisions. Sports are not just about outcomes, they are about connection. Fans want to believe in the people behind their teams, not just the results those decisions produce.

Counterargument: Should AI Take Over Completely?

Some might argue that if AI is more accurate, it should fully replace human decision-making. From this perspective, the goal of sports organizations is to win, and if AI increases the chances of winning, then it makes sense to rely on it completely. Human judgment is often biased, inconsistent, and emotional, while AI is objective and data-driven.

This idea is reinforced by how quickly AI is improving. As Ross Andersen notes in The Atlantic, AI may soon be “better than us at divining the future of our entire messy, contingent world” (Andersen, 2026). If that is true, then choosing to ignore AI would seem irrational. Why rely on imperfect human judgment when a system can consistently produce more accurate predictions?

However, this argument overlooks what sports actually represent. Accuracy is not the only goal. Sports are built on competition, identity, and unpredictability. Even if AI can predict outcomes, that does not mean it should control them. A perfectly optimized decision may increase the chances of winning, but it can also remove the risk and uncertainty that make sports exciting in the first place.

There is also a difference between prediction and responsibility. When a coach makes a decision, they take ownership of it. Fans can agree, disagree, and react to it. That interaction is part of the experience. If decisions are made by AI, accountability becomes less clear. The decision may be more “correct,” but it feels less human.

Because of this, fully replacing humans with AI may improve efficiency, but it risks taking away the meaning that makes sports valuable in the first place.

Why This Actually Matters

If teams rely heavily on AI, sports could become more predictable. Strategies become optimized, risks are reduced, and outcomes become easier to model. While this may lead to better performance, it could also make the game less exciting. Unpredictability is one of the main reasons people watch sports. Without it, the experience changes.

At the same time, AI is not something that can or should be removed. The benefits are too significant. Injury prevention, performance tracking, and strategic insights all improve the game in meaningful ways. The real issue is not whether AI should be used, but how it should be used.

AI in sports is growing rapidly, which shows that its influence on how decisions are made will only continue to increase. According to recent market data, the AI in sports industry is expected to grow from about $1.03 billion in 2024 to $2.61 billion by 2030, with a projected annual growth rate of 16.7% (MarketsandMarkets, 2024). This rapid growth shows how quickly teams are adopting AI, making it more important to consider how it affects the human side of sports.

As AI becomes more involved in decision-making, the question is not just how much it grows, but how it should be used.

In the TED Talk How AI Is Discovering Athletes That Human Scouts Miss, Richard Felton-Thomas explains that AI is most effective when it works alongside humans rather than replacing them. While AI can process information at a scale humans cannot, people still provide judgment, ethics, and context. This reinforces the idea that AI should support decision-making, not replace it.

To move forward, teams should set clear limits on how AI is used. AI can inform decisions, but final choices should still involve human judgment. This balance allows teams to benefit from data while still preserving what makes sports feel real.

Conclusion

Artificial intelligence will continue to grow in sports whether people like it or not. The real question is not whether it will be used, but how far it should go.

AI should be used as a tool, not a replacement for human judgment. It should help teams make better decisions, not make the decisions for them. For teams, this means setting clear boundaries. For leagues, it means creating guidelines. For fans, it means staying aware of how the game is changing.

If AI is used correctly, it can improve sports. But if it replaces the human side of decision-making, it risks taking away the unpredictability, emotion, and connection that make sports feel real in the first place.

Sources

Andersen, R. (2026). AI is getting scary good at making predictions. The Atlantic.

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/2026/02/ai-prediction-human-forecasters/685955/

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/

Felton-Thomas, R. (2025). How AI is discovering athletes that human scouts miss. TED.

https://www.ted.com/talks/richard_felton_thomas_how_ai_is_discovering_athletes_that_human_scouts_miss

MarketsandMarkets. (2024). AI in sports market (Report Code TC 9249).

https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/ai-in-sports-market-122129412.html

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/