A soccer game without rules and without a referee would be a chaotic mess in which fairness and order would be lacking. It would be hard to imagine that players could play the game without clear guidelines and a neutral authority without getting into disagreements and misunderstandings. And it would probably be exactly the same with artificial intelligence. Because without clear rules and monitoring, the outcome would probably be fatal – for everyone involved. Adhering to rules and ensuring fairness are crucial aspects for the development and use of AI technologies. In this context, it is worth exploring how the principles of soccer – rules, referees and fairness – can be applied to the development of AI solutions in order to create a more ethical and therefore more efficient AI world.
Why should AI learn from soccer?
The AI Act comes with a crucial role: the Human in Command. And just as the referee makes decisions about fouls, offside and corners, yellow and red cards – the Human in Command will also have a control function.
But what does it look like in soccer? And what are my thoughts on why the role of the referee is absolutely necessary?
- I don’t want to imagine what it would be like without it.
- The presence of the referee alone prevents fouls.
- Rules must be defined in advance and apply to everyone.
- Enforced rules lead to the right goals being maximized (e.g. not maximum rowdiness, which would also be very efficient, but maximum ball skills). Everyone benefits from this.
- It’s still fun!
Soccer is unimaginable without the referee
Despite all the rules and structures, soccer is fun. In soccer, the presence of a referee prevents fouls and unfair actions. At CHEMISTREE, we develop mechanisms to detect and prevent undesirable behavior in your AI systems. We do this in various research projects, in our own studies and in our day-to-day work. This is how we make #goodAI.
