Why Human Referees are Getting Replaced

If you’re watching the 2023 US Open, you’re seeing automated referee calls. After years of controversy about human accuracy, tennis has used a system called Hawkeye to not only check human calls… but now to replace human referees. And this robot ref revolution isn’t just happening in tennis. It’s taking over the sports world. Soccer, basketball, baseball, they are all using machines to improve the calls being made on the field. The World Cup in particular has invested in these tools, from VAR (video assistant referee) to semi-automated offside and goal-line technology. The stakes are high. The difference between a right or wrong call can be a championship, or millions of dollars in prizes, endorsements, ticket sales. For the most part, fans like tech that makes calls more objective. HOWEVER… there is a big chunk of sports fans who would strongly disagree, who think that robot refs are ruining the game. Thing is, this tech isn’t going back in the bottle! Stadiums are now being decked out with dozens of cameras that can track balls, people, and even use AI to make calls so accurate that one day human refs might be a thing of the past…