Can AI Really Coach a Football Team Better Than a Human?

Unpacking TacticAI and the Future of Sports

Have you ever watched a football match and wondered how the coaches come up with their intricate game plans, especially during set pieces like corner kicks? There's a fascinating blend of intuition, experience, and analysis that goes into deciding where each player should be positioned for the best possible outcome. But what if we could add another tool to the coach's arsenal – artificial intelligence? It might sound like science fiction, but researchers at Google DeepMind have developed an AI system called TacticAI that's doing just that, specifically focusing on the strategic complexities of corner kicks.

This article aims to explore how TacticAI uses a combination of predictive and generative AI to provide football coaches with unique tactical insights. We'll consider the technical aspects in an accessible way, using the analogy of football to illustrate how AI can be used to analyse complex situations, make predictions, and suggest improvements – all skills that are transferable to many other areas of life and learning.