Adam Silver is one of the biggest advocates of AI in the NBA. From automated calls to helping players avoid injuries, he has grand schemes for the technology. But during Game 1 of the NBA Finals, AI failed in something as simple as presenting an iconic image, much to the disgrace of the fans. The NBA tried to use technology to relive some of the historic moments from the NBA Finals, only for it to get worse each time.

It started with a simple image of Hakeem Olajuwon and Patrick Ewing dueling during the 1999 NBA Finals. The league tried to add some motion to the image, almost creating a live photograph. However, Artificial Intelligence put a current-day NBA Finals patch on Olajuwon’s jersey.

The next image saw the late Kobe Bryant and Ron Harper celebrate a Finals win during the Lakers’ three-peat era. The result was Bryant and Harper’s bodies moving unusually. In the corner of the screen, fans could see Harper’s hands randomly flailing.

It reached its worst when an image of Tony Parker was technologically altered to become somebody else. Fans watching at home couldn’t make out the significance of the image shown during the broadcast. It was supposed to be Parker’s iconic photograph from winning the 2003 NBA Finals. It was his first Finals win as he posed with confetti and a cigar in hand. The league replicated it as it is, with the same jacket, pose, and surroundings. Only the person looked nothing like Parker.

It was a lazy attempt that undermined a lot of these NBA Finals moments. Likewise, fans weren’t pleased. Understandably, the league wants to implement AI. But the latest attempt was pathetic and unnecessary. Using original images that the league owns would add value. It would generate intrigue among fans who never saw these moments. Instead, they saw a few ugly motion images and an artificially produced image of a person that doesn’t exist.

Other leagues also had their AI-image fiascos recently. The WNBA’s Indiana Fever faced backlash when they posted an AI-generated promotional image of Caitlin Clark that botched her hand. Fox was slammed by NFL fans during a broadcast when they used a bizarre AI collage depicting Aaron Rodgers’ journey from the Green Bay Packers to the New York Jets and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Adam Silver’s encouraging AI mission

The NBA tried something, and it didn’t work. But the final goal isn’t to attain some expertise in creating interesting images. Adam Silver’s mission is to use modern developments to improve the product. For starters, the commissioner spoke about using automated technology to reduce referee errors. Similar to Hawk-Eye in tennis, Silver aims to use AI to make accurate decisions by calculating all the necessary parameters. It will help to reduce moments like a clear out-of-bounds call being missed in a WCF game, which happened during the Thunder-Spurs series.

Aside from that, Silver earlier spoke about the game-changing potential of artificial intelligence. This year, several NBA stars were on the sidelines. Kyrie Irving, Tyrese Haliburton, and Damian Lillard didn’t play a single game due to ACL or Achilles tears. There was also an uptick in soft tissue injuries. Likewise, recognising the problems, Silver wants to use AI to analyse player patterns that provide insight to avoid major ailments.

“I’m hopeful that by looking at more data, by looking at patterns, this is one area where A.I. — people are talking about how that’s going to transform so many areas — the ability with A.I. to ingest all video of every game a player’s played in to see if you can detect some pattern that we didn’t realize that leads to an Achilles injury. We’re taking it very seriously,” Adam Silver said during last year’s NBA draft.

These are the ways AI can actually assist the league in providing a better product for the fans. No one wants to see creative and tacky images in between games.