MLB effectively outlaws use of AI on dugout iPads during games

AI has just been ejected from the game.

Major League Baseball effectively outlawed the practice of using iPads during games to access artificial intelligence tools, and use of AI to shape in-game strategy.

Teams were installing custom apps that pushed the boundaries of the technology guidelines, as the iPads were being used “beyond their originally intended purpose to include recommendations regarding substitutions, pitch calling, and other in-game decisions traditionally made by players and coaches,” according to a commissioner’s office memo obtained by Fox News Digital.

The league memo about AI and the iPads was issued on June 11, with the ban fully going into effect on Wednesday before teams resumed play following the All-Star break. As many as one-third of the league was using the iPads for reasons beyond its intended use, according to The Athletic’s report.

The league’s review of the use of technology found that no teams broke the MLB’s rules governing sign stealing and electronic-device usage.

“Gotta stop the cheating before there’s cheating now,” one front office executive told The Athletic.

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On MLB-issued iPads, there are three tabs: The first contains MLB-provided Statcast data and multiple video angles, the second contains data related to the automated ball-strike (ABS) system, and the third was a custom tab where teams installed apps. That third tab is now prohibited by the league.

Rules have been implemented to try and reduce the amount of live information going into iPads. In-game video is only available on a delay, and rules are posted in all clubhouses that prevent non-field personnel from entering the dugout.

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It is not known exactly how many teams used the iPads with live, in-game information, but the league’s decision to suspend the use of artificial intelligence now ensures it is humans who are calling all of the shots.

The Athletic was the first to report about the restrictions of AI on the iPads.

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