What Next: TBD

The Discourse | Baseball’s A.I. Umpires

The MLB’s automated ball-strike system is in full swing this season. How will it change America’s pastime?

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Episode Notes

Major League Baseball has rolled an “Automated Ball-Strike Challenge System” this season, which allows players to appeal how pitches were called. But what about the jobs of human umpires? Aren’t missed calls part of the game? And what implications does this have on the future of sports?

Guest: Ben Lindbergh, senior editor at The Ringer, co-host of Slate’s Hang Up and Listen.

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Podcast production by Evan Campbell and Patrick Fort.

About the Show

Every Friday, Slate’s popular daily news podcast What Next brings you TBD, a clear-eyed look into the future. From fake news to fake meat, algorithms to augmented reality, Lizzie O’Leary is your guide to the tech industry and the world it’s creating for us to live in.

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Host

  • Rob Gunther is a senior producer of What Next, Slate’s daily news podcast. He has worked on news podcasts and radio at Slate, Business Insider, Apple News, and WNYC.