MLB bans using dugout iPads for AI-powered in-game strategy calls

It appears the urge to turn all critical thinking over to AI has not escaped Major League Baseball teams. Regular baseball viewers have become accustomed to seeing players and staff huddled around tablets in the dugout. The expectation is that the devices are used for reviewing performance and maybe crunching last-minute stats, but apparently MLB officials have intervened to prevent teams from using the hardware for running generative AI. League officials have taken the unusual step of making a mid-season policy change to crack down on the use of custom apps that would take over recommendations regarding substitutions, pitch calling, and other in-game decisions traditionally made by players and coaches. Sources told the publication as many as a third of teams were using tablets for these unintended purposes, although no clubs will be facing any punishment after an MLB review determined that all organizations were now compliant with the new rules, which took effect yesterday.