Spectators of AI : Football Fans vs. the Semi-Automated Offside Technology at the 2022 FIFA World Cup

Abstract

More than half of the global population were spectators of AI-assisted decision making during the recent 2022 FIFA World Cup. For the first time in a Football World Cup, via news and social media, fans were briefed about the Semi-Automated Offside Technology (SAOT), which determined the position of players to be offside or not, in real time, with the help of AI. In this paper, we collect and analyse news articles related to offside decisions made with SAOT, published during and around the tournament. Our findings reveal alternating positive and negative portrayals of SAOT in the news, gaps in communication, and needs of Football fans to gain a better spectator experience. In conclusion, we discuss general implications for designing a better relationship between Spectators and AI, specific implications for bettering the experience of Football fans when using SAOT, and introduce our future research.