Oakland A’s exec believes AI, health tech will transform pro sports

Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane predicts health technology and AI will transform professional baseball and sports, according to a report by CNBC.

In an interview with the news organization, Beane stated professional sports teams are already using devices and data-driven techniques to track the health of players and minimize injuries. However, he said challenges with data privacy laws sometimes prevent teams from getting access to a player’s health history.   

Additionally, Beane said AI is “poised to transform the business of baseball" and other sports with recruiting. Though the Oakland A’s aren’t using AI for scouting, he said it will soon be used to help teams recruit the next professional players.

"One of the reasons we haven't been more aggressive with using AI is because we don't have the money," Beane told CNBC. "That's almost a venture project for a business like ours. It might be a five-year, six-year project. And it could turn into nothing, you know, when it's all said and done. That's the challenge of being with a small business in our space. We don't have the ability to do sort of those venture projects internally. We need to make sure that every dollar we spend we get some return which is not a perfect world."

To read the full report, click the link below.

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Danielle covers Clinical Innovation & Technology as a senior news writer for TriMed Media. Previously, she worked as a news reporter in northeast Missouri and earned a journalism degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She's also a huge fan of the Chicago Cubs, Bears and Bulls. 

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