The masterminds behind a new artificially-intelligent soccer chatbot that will provide game updates and detailed player statistics for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia say their technology may one-day replace traditional TV commentators.
In what Beijing-based artificial intelligence company Cubee Technology is calling the world’s first AI-driven football [soccer] chatbot, the product, named AIBALL, uses natural language processing and deep learning to understand fan questions and to grow more intelligent over time.
AIBALL, which will be available via iOS and Android apps, will answer a variety of soccer-related questions, ranging from explaining the rules of the game to detailed stats and anecdotes about players.
The chatbot has access to detailed player information, match data, the latest social media news, and flashbacks to historical games and events, which it can provide to users in the form of audio, images, articles, videos, animations and charts. Chinese mobile giant Xiaomi and Chinese smart speaker and Amazon Echo competitor Dingdong have signed on as distribution partners.
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Cubee says this chatbot is different from others on the market today because it uses logic to field and answer questions. The company believes this more intelligent kind of AI, which is built on a deeper and more extensive kind of search tool called a “knowledge graph,” makes computer reasoning possible.
“At present, most chatbots are mechanical in function. They can simulate human conversation on a very limited range of topics and match questions to a memorized answers,” Cubee said in a statement. “AIBALL goes further as it can learn about users’ behavior and use logic and keep learning to find the sort of information users really want. When fans are watching a live football [soccer] game, AIBALL will be their intelligent assistant, providing comment like a real human being, responding well to any questions, and scouring the web to search for the most relevant information.”
Combined with the fact that AIBALL tracks user behavior so that it can serve more personalized content, including memorizing users’ favorite team or players over time, Cubee says this technology might one day serve as a replacement to traditional analysts.
“The job of football [soccer] commentator or pundit is becoming more difficult in recent years as fans’ demands become more sophisticated,” Cubee said. “Traditional ‘one-to-many’ modes of communication like TV commentary hasn’t changed much over the last few decades, but its days are numbered. It will eventually be replaced by something can meet the personal requirements of each fan, and AIBALL is the first step down to this path. Fans can now get the information they want directly, in an easily understood format, and they don’t need to search online by their own anymore.”
SportTechie Takeaway:
On the surface this may seem like just another chatbot akin to the ones on Facebook Messenger and Amazon Echo, which have been used to inform fans of game times or scores. We’ve seen data companies start to build intelligent apps for the Echo through Alexa Skills, including for the Arsenal Football Club, which now gives fans access to pre-match content, lineups, score updates and post-match analysis; and the NBA, which beginning this season started offering fans access to real-time scores and stats. AIBALL, however, is promising to do something more powerful by providing on-demand statistics and deep knowledge about soccer matches that go beyond the predictable. We’re likely a far ways off from replacing traditional sports analysts, if they ever even are, but this technology joins the ranks of technology companies developing more personalized data-heavy experiences for fans.