by Peter A. Arthur-Smith
“Combined with the saturation of the game with data, driven on a fundamental level by a desire to reduce soccer to its most efficient and most reliable form, soccer is slowly being drained of wonder.” Article by Rory Smith, entitled ‘Bleak View of Game’s Future Misses the Full Picture,’ New York Times, July 14th, 2024
How much can we also say this about so many operations and marketplaces today? How many of us wax nostalgia and lament past times when soccer – Europe’s football – was more about talented players and personal wizardry? But the same seems to be occurring in all walks of life, industry and various enterprises as well. The sporting analyst has in many cases become more important than the traditional, lively and loquacious sporting commentator. And A.I. is just another tool in the quantitative process.
In fact in most cases sporting analysts are now the commentators, so they constantly spew out statistics and numbers as a way of defining their sports. As long as they can do that, they don’t have to be particularly knowledgeable about the skills and talent building required in their designated sports, since their numerical content substitutes for knowledge; i.e. sports media programs don’t need former great players as commentators as that would be too expensive!
Gone are the days when commentators would relate the personal stories of players or educate us on the history of the game, review different styles and skills, or speculate how the game could play out. Instead it’s about how many goals, passes, runs, fouls or player injuries are made or endured. As younger generations are exposed to these modern commentator formats, perhaps that’s all they’ll expect. Except that it’s all likely to become somewhat boring after a while. It’s all rather sad!
This blatant numerical fixation seems to have proliferated to almost every corner of society. The discussion of efficiency and squeezing every last drop out of every scenario. But what happens when there’s nothing more to squeeze? Or when games often end up in virtual ties, because everyone uses the same tactics and style. In fact, the NY Time’s article’s writer, Smith, noted how most participant teams in the Euro Soccer Cup were somewhat boring, since they were all playing the same “pressing game.” It’s a mode that’s designed to smother and nullify individual skills as much as possible. That’s when soccer potentially begins to die on the vine. All good things have to perish at some point! Even Rome’s gladiator killing arena lost its luster over time!
Will our entertainment and business worlds eventually become boring and lifeless as they become swamped in formulas and stats? Will it all be lacking in human drama and feats all for the sake of numbers? Fortunately for us, with human ingenuity just below the surface, there’s always the possibility that a breakout of some sort will occur. Generations fed up with being spoon fed with stats and numbers every day could well end up looking for something different.
There are already signs that various voices are beginning to question the real value of A.I., which, at the end of the day, is just another drive for efficiency and numbers. It is being pushed on us by Big Tech as part of its own salvation. That was epitomized by an online New York Times, July 2024, article by David Wallace-Wells entitled, How long will A.I.’s ‘slop era’ last: People aren’t afraid of A.I. these days. They’re annoyed by it.
Among other things, Wallace-Wells refers to “A.I. Slop” as, ‘…often uncanny, frequently misleading material now flooding web browsers and social media platforms like spam in old boxes.’ This echoes an article I recently wrote, Is A.I. Being Thrust upon Us to Meet Big Tech’s Business Needs?, which was based upon a similar sounding article by Christopher Mims in the Wall Street Journal. Such important and mindful questions are increasingly being raised in our numbers crazed society.
Coming back to our efficiency sports and business worlds once more, even though these numerical strategies do bear merit in some way; there’s no doubt we have to find a way to push back. We have to push back against the numerical tide so as to allow proper balance with humanity, ingenuity and dignity. Without that, society is likely to implode over time and there’ll be nothing else worth living for other than today or tomorrow’s numbers.
Our leaders, starting with Wall Street types and bankers, should push back against the numerical tide. Their numerical control systems are so intertwined that a miscue in one area can cause a collapse in the whole world’s communication system – as recently occurred with the airlines. It took human ingenuity, wisdom and insight to rescue us from that calamity – not A.I. – although the numbers and A.I. beavers were back to their usual game immediately afterward. It’s important to turn the numbers back into human intelligent behaviors.
Numbers are increasingly polarizing society, along with an increasing threat of international strife, through simplistic numerical comparisons, as well as mounting pressures on workplace people to meet numerical objectives. How much more do I have that you don’t have? Have you met your numerical goals yet? Society’s leaders should challenge younger generations not to succumb to the number’s faction. Instead, they should demand a proper balance between human and big business-government interests and their constant numerical drum. Without it, the future for our younger generations doesn’t look so promising!