With new technology being developed quickly, there's a question that needs to be asked in the NFL: how will these advancements help officiating? The officiating in the NFL has long been under scrutiny. Fans aren't satisfied with the quality of officiating in the league, pointing to various calls that were made incorrectly by officials.
The rise of artificial intelligence provides an avenue for the NFL to improve their officiating. That being said, Commissioner Roger Goodell is impressed with the officiating in the league today. Goodell also talked about how they plan on using AI to develop their officials and teach them better.
“I truly believe that technology can help our officials,” Goodell said, per Barkley Truax. “They do a great job, but it’s an incredibly fast game. The technology that you all bring with super slow-mo, you now have three times the number of cameras that we had several years ago. They can move the angle. We need to be able to use that to help our officials get it right. They want to get it right. They’re incredibly dedicated professionals, but we also we need to give them that tool. And I think AI is going to be a real opportunity there.”
Will we see an artificial intelligence model throwing flags on the field anytime soon? No, but that's also not how AI could potentially help the officials of the league. Instead, the NFL could, in theory, use an AI model to analyze patterns during the game to inform their decisions better. That is only one of the possible ways that AI could be a boon to officiating, which is an incredibly hard task to do.
The NFL is already using AI to help players in other ways. Two weeks ago, the league launched Digital Athlete, an AI-powered system available to all 32 teams that helps assess injury risk for teams. “Coaches and training staff use the information to develop individualized injury prevention, training and recovery regimens for players,” the league wrote in a statement.
