The Art of Rodeo: 'Great American State Fair' Introduces AI Judge for Bull Riding Competition
In a first for competitive rodeo, the Great American State Fair has announced the implementation of an artificial intelligence system to judge bull riding events this year.
The fair committee confirmed Tuesday that the AI, named "BroncoVision," was trained on thousands of hours of professional rodeo footage. Organizers claim the system will provide unbiased scoring based on rider control, bull performance, and duration of the ride.
Questions have emerged regarding the technology's ability to evaluate subjective elements, such as style and risk-taking. The preliminary program will run alongside human judges in a test capacity for the first week of the fair.
The Great American State Fair runs from August 15 through September 2. The trial marks the largest public test of AI in rodeo judging to date.