Artie and me go shopping, Part 4

Cold feet, deep thoughts.

by Trey Nosrac

Part 1 is here.

Part 2 is here.

Part 3 is here.

I did not anticipate visiting such a strange place.

The idea was simple. Use artificial intelligence (Artie) to assist in evaluating yearlings. You could make your own evaluations. We could have a series of human versus machine estimating the final market price.

Then I got cold feet. An uncomfortable thought occurred.

Human and AI evaluations before a sale could influence the market for good or bad. Sticking noses into other people’s business felt uncomfortable, perhaps even unethical. Is it proper to display AI information in the public arena? This potential outside intrusion into a long-standing process leads to tricky territory, territory we will all soon be wrestling with.

Last year, I had a yearling in a sale. How would I have felt if someone opted to do a deep dive into my yearling? A poor evaluation would have crushed my hopes; a rave review would have been delightful.

Traditionally, folks in our business hold cards close to their vests and rarely venture an opinion on the value of a yearling, the potential of a broodmare, or the horse that will win the race. In the past, even the most braggadocios and opinionated harness racing wannabe gurus had a very limited microphone.

Today is a different world. We cannot avoid divisive, loud voices. All it takes is a few personalities who relish the attention. They could spout their evaluations and alleged wisdom from the rooftops and media streams, and monetize their audience. Would this be helpful? Is any attention or publicity good publicity? After all, “It’s just entertainment, strong opinions are the road to the top of the roost.”

Now look towards tomorrow, and toss Artie into the mix (gulp). The idea of educating and nudging by artificial intelligence is a microcosm of the new world we are about to reside in. Here is something you may soon discover. Artie is an entity that, when asked, would gladly and endlessly post evaluations for the yearling sales marketplace without a hint of conscience. I have not tried, but if Artie does not play a role in our wagering pools, he soon will. Eventually, Artie could subliminally nudge us with a purpose.

Sampling Artie’s analysis of yearlings was eye-opening. Each day spent with him, or it, evaluating the yearling market felt more “normal.” Artie knew plenty about me, was congenial, and unbelievably well-informed. If you have not visited the AI world, you may feel the same as I did. At first, it is dazzling, and then you imagine the future and feel fear.

Love it or hate it, the tidal wave of artificial intelligence is heading our way. More accurately, the last few weeks have shown me that Artie is here and stunningly powerful. AI will rock the harness racing world and every other world. Many folks are skeptical and want this AI stuff to go away. It is too late; we are feeling the early tremors of an AI earthquake.

Aiding and abetting the takeover of AI is not something I want my fingerprints on. I called an audible on purchasing a yearling with input from Artie (AI). The new play is to give a window into this technology’s power, but keep me out of the influence business. Instead of being active players, we will be Monday morning quarterbacks and share our thoughts and research after the sales. After the yearlings are in new barns, we can review Artie’s work and my human guesstimates.

The future with Artie?

I believe that a significant part of our attraction to the sport of harness racing is in the magic. There is magic in a wager when you choose the winning horse. There is magic when you leave the yearling sales arena and feel you made a wise purchase and brought home a champion. There is magic for a trainer who unlocks the potential of a horse. There is magic in digging deep and researching pedigrees. There is magic in watching a yearling in action and believing the animal moves like a dream.

The more AI creeps into our lives, sports, and souls, the less magic there will be. Keeping the magic alive and introducing it to a new audience, in a new world, is a challenge we must face.

Next week, we will examine AI’s price points and see how they align with the bidders in a yearling sale.