Will AI replace Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials?
Estimated risk score: 48 out of 100
Moderate replacement risk
Estimate from published task research, not reviewed by a person · how we estimate
Within about 19 points for 4 in 5 of the jobs we checked (29 to 67).
For the occupation as a whole, from ratings of its 16 O*NET tasks published in 2023 and calibrated to our hand scores. A specialty inside it can sit higher or lower.
O*NET-SOC 27-2023.00 · Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media
Tasks rated in 2023 as ones AI could do or speed up
Tasks a GPT-4-class model could do, or do in half the time or less: 7 of its 16 rated tasks; the first 6 are shown. In O*NET’s words.
- Report to regulating organizations regarding sporting activities, complaints made, and actions taken or needed, such as fines or other disciplinary actions.
- Compile scores and other athletic records.
- Verify scoring calculations before competition winners are announced.
- Research and study players and teams to anticipate issues that might arise in future engagements.
- Verify credentials of participants in sporting events, and make other qualifying determinations, such as starting order or handicap number.
- Keep track of event times, including race times and elapsed time during game segments, starting or stopping play when necessary.
Tasks rated in 2023 as not sped up by AI
Tasks such a model was rated as not speeding up or taking over: 8 of its 16 rated tasks; the first 6 are shown. In O*NET’s words.
- Signal participants or other officials to make them aware of infractions or to otherwise regulate play or competition.
- Confer with other sporting officials, coaches, players, and facility managers to provide information, coordinate activities, and discuss problems.
- Inspect game sites for compliance with regulations or safety requirements.
- Inspect sporting equipment or examine participants to ensure compliance with event and safety regulations.
- Officiate at sporting events, games, or competitions, to maintain standards of play and to ensure that game rules are observed.
- Resolve claims of rule infractions or complaints by participants and assess any necessary penalties, according to regulations.
What the job is
Officiate at competitive athletic or sporting events. Detect infractions of rules and decide penalties according to established regulations. Includes all sporting officials, referees, and competition judges.
Also called: Referee, Sports Official, Horse Show Judge, Major League Baseball Umpire (MLB Umpire), Umpire, Clocker, Starter, MLB Umpire.
Closest jobs we score by hand
In the same field (Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media). Different jobs, each scored by a person.
Source. This site includes information from the O*NET 30.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. (O*NET, CC BY 4.0.) Task ratings: Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin and Rock (2023), “GPTs are GPTs: An Early Look at the Labor Market Impact Potential of Large Language Models”, data used under the MIT licence (licence texts). Our change: we averaged the ratings over this occupation’s tasks and calibrated them to our 0–100 scale. It is not a prediction about any one person and not career advice. Disagree? Write to hello@yourstopwashit.com. How we estimate