Daniel Kokotajlo, a former researcher at OpenAI, warned last week that it was possible we would end up “creating a new species that ends up ruling the world”. Once the initial shock wore off, and I’d considered what this could mean for my young children and the future of the planet, another thought popped into my head: will this new species be able to swing an old cricket ball or navigate a seaming green top? But the question is not quite as ridiculous as it first appears.
Freddie Wilde, an analyst with teams in the Indian Premier League and the Hundred and head of cricket intelligence at CricViz, says “almost all elements” of his day-to-day work have now been touched by AI. There is a grey area between traditional analysis and analysis shaped by artificial intelligence. The models are improving, the tools are faster and more information is being processed.
For Wilde, AI has made him more autonomous. Tasks that once required a data engineer or data scientist can now be attempted by the analyst themselves. That is AI’s first meaningful change to cricket.
It is not replacing the player, coach or analyst, it is allowing them to do more. For a batter, that may mean knowing where a bowler is most likely to pitch and which risks are worth taking. For a bowler, it may mean identifying a weakness against a particular angle, length or field.
The final act remains human. China staged its second World Humanoid Robot Games last month. More than 500 robots competed in football, athletics, boxing and more.
Many stumbled or required human assistance, but one ran 100m in 8.64sec. The footage was amusing, but the progress was sobering. Ray Kurzweil’s Law of Accelerating Returns argues that technological advancement is exponential.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
