Brave new world of artificial intelligence: why FIFA boss Infantino may soon be replaced

So Hope Bend offers nothing but lip service (yet), and you could easily dismiss the whole thing as an entertainment gimmick if it weren’t for the anxiety that grips you as a person in general and as a writer in particular. . It’s an unsettling feeling that you may soon be replaced because the changes brought about by artificial intelligence (AI) will fundamentally change the world and take you into unimaginable areas.

New book from Dürrenmatt?

Some major publishing houses are currently in the process of entering into contracts with literary estate managers so that AI can continue to write the works of the dead. Perhaps, for example, a new book by Friedrich Dürrenmatt, who died in 1990, will go on sale. It is likely that similar considerations will arise in music and art. David Bowie’s new hit? AI makes this possible. New painting by Jean-Michel Basquiat? No problem.

Logically, journalism must also deal with AI, analyze the dangers and seize the opportunities. Of course, now he is doing this most intensively. I confess that it is no longer so easy for me to follow this new development with enthusiasm. You should know: I’m 58 years old, and as a teenager I played Pong, that seventies video game where you hit a white line (racket) on a white dot (ball) on the TV screen and start playing. him back.

Passion for Pong and Pac-Man

Back then we were delighted with this technology and the new possibilities it offered us. Later we jumped into Pac-Man, very excited, even though we were hunted mercilessly and eventually eaten. Personal computers? Internet? Mobile phone? Everything came later and revolutionized our work, made it easier and led to online journalism. So now A.I. Despite more and more technological tools, it feels like life is becoming more and more complex – and the future is becoming increasingly difficult to imagine.

This also applies to football. What you can be sure of: Scouting, training methodology, games and data analysis will be constantly improved and optimized using artificial intelligence and virtual reality tools. It is also possible that the AI ​​will soon create more promising lineups than the coach. You can also continue the madness: if at some point the FIFA President is replaced by Hope Bend, then there may also be AI-controlled players who fight in teams. And reporters are creatures who are fed hundreds of terabytes of data and who collect the most plausible proposals from this pool.

1/8 finals of the European Championship against Serbia?

I know that my younger colleagues smile at my fantasies and fears. They take on this new challenge with sport and enthusiasm, seeing the possibilities of AI rather than the dangers. But to be honest: when the draw for the 2024 European Championship groups took place in Hamburg on Saturday, I was very pleased that there were familiar faces up front, genuine former players such as Sami Khedira, Gianluigi Buffon, Brian Laudrup and Wesley Sneijder. they stood out of the pots, mixed the balls by hand and, finally, fished out the scribbled pieces of paper from them. And I’m glad that I don’t need an algorithm to imagine what kind of explosive pairings the team might face in the 1/8 finals.

Just look at the game plan: if Switzerland wins Group A, there could be, for example, another duel with Serbia. If Switzerland finishes second in the group, perhaps due to a duel with Italy, Switzerland will move into the top four third-placed teams in the group, possibly for a rematch with Portugal. But come on, we have to play the group stage first. And in football everything has always been possible. Let’s see how long this will last.