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MLB blocks dugout iPads from making strategy calls
MLB has barred teams from using dugout iPads for generative AI-driven in-game decisions, according to a June 11 memo reported by The Athletic.
Image: Engadget
Major League Baseball has moved mid-season to stop teams from using dugout iPads for AI-powered in-game strategy. According to The Athletic, the commissioner’s office sent a memo on June 11 banning custom apps that make recommendations on substitutions, pitch calling, and other in-game decisions traditionally handled by players and coaches.
The report says sources estimated that as many as a third of teams had been using tablets in ways not originally intended. Even so, no clubs will be punished: an MLB review found that all organizations were compliant with the new rules, which took effect yesterday.
Tablet use in MLB dugouts had already faced tighter controls after a sign-stealing scandal in 2021. In the years since, teams had pushed for more flexibility, but the league is now reversing course.
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The new restriction targets the use of generative AI as a live decision-making tool rather than as a post hoc review or data reference system. That distinction matters in a sport long shaped by analytics, where teams already rely heavily on statistical models but where real-time calls still sit with coaches and players.
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via Engadget
