The Oakland Ballers, an independent baseball team, experimented with AI management during a game, partnering with Distillery to use AI software trained on baseball data. The AI made similar decisions to the human manager, Aaron Miles, who only intervened once due to a player's illness.
Despite the smooth execution, the AI experiment sparked backlash from fans, who viewed it as prioritizing technology over baseball tradition and community. This reaction highlighted a broader debate about the role of AI in sports and society. The Ballers do not intend to repeat the AI experiment in the future.