In a recent article, I discussed the potential AI had to replace coxes. To be clear, I don’t think they should replace coxes (otherwise we’d miss incredibles moves like Jasper Parish’s boat Race line), but I do think it has a potential to help coxes. So how could it be used to do so?
I played around with the ChatGPT March 23rd Version, and asked it to give me a list of calls a coxswain could use in the race. Were any of its calls any good? (To clarify all of these are my opinions, I may think some calls are good, you may not).
Chat GPT gave me a list of 10 calls to use, along with what each one is used for. It seemed to give the calls in order you’d say in the race, but it also listed “Hold” before “Sprint”. It did give some decent technical calls, like “Lengthen”, “Sit Up” and “Build”. These calls are essential, and Chat GPT could be a tool to help beginner coxes learn these calls, and why you say them. Saying something as a cox is one thing, but understanding your calls is another and is only really learnt through experience in a boat beyond a computer. As many coxes may not get a chance to row, this could be a tool to allow them to grasp a greater technical understanding which they may not be able to gain in sessions due to limited time.
After a vague race outline, I asked Chat GPT to give me some more technical calls. One call it gave was “Suspension”. While I don’t necessarily think that it is bad, I do think you need more to make it a good call. Telling your crew to think about suspension or hang off the handles is a great way for them to have a technical focus during the race, but would need to be implemented in a way that wouldn’t distract from speed and of course only if it was actually helpful advice. It did suggest one call I had not thought of before, “Lock on”, though I have given some iteration of it, perhaps with this in mind Chat GPT could be a source of inspiration for those rusty to the coxing seat as a way to recall or inspire new instructions. Other technical calls it suggested were “Arms away”, “Body swing” and “Eyes up”, rather uninspiring basic calls of a race, which I don’t think would be overly useful in a high pressure environment.
On balance Chat GPT definitely allows coxes to adopt more calls into their toolbox, even if not quotes verbatim, and could be a faster way of learning calls instead of watching cox recordings. However, I think beginner coxes should be wary, as some calls may be beyond what has been discussed with crews in sessions, which could end up confusing the crew, rather than aiding speed, after all shouting unfounded advice to a crew would do little more than frustrate its members. Also, Chat GPT in no way replaces the benefit of listening to a cox recording, the context, boat ability and race awareness are things that a computer is unable to teach. Not to mention of course how changing a race can be, AI would not be able to inform on how to connect to and fully understand the inner workings of a boat.
I lastly asked Chat GPT for a 2k race plan. It started with a “Power 10!”, which I don’t believe to be hugely useful in any part of a race if followed by a slump in speed, so proving somewhat benign in the first 100 meters. In fairness, you do need to optimise you starting calls if a race, but usually this is planned, discussed and often prepared for far in advance. It then gave an array of calls for the following parts of the race. For the settle, it suggested “Lengthen” and “Even Pressure”. For the mid-race, it suggested, “Rhythm”, “Body swing” and “Quick catch” among others, and this theme continued throughout. While I think Chat GPT could be a good tool to make race plans, you often need to change your race plane to conditions on the day, as well as tailoring it to your crew, which is something only a coach-crew has the ability to do.
Overall, I think Chat GPT is a partially good learning tool for coxes. It allows for a one to one conversation that coxes may not be able to have with coaches, and even provided an explanation allowing for deeper understanding. All that was suggested lacked a sense of reality, face value the calls seemed obtuse and uninspiring, presumably derived from advice or videos on the internet with no link to an in-real-life scenario. However, the fundamental nature of AI means it lacks the ability to fully teach these calls, you still need to listen to cox recordings and work with your boat to ultimately tailor them to your crew. Therefore, Chat GPT has assured me that coxes will not be replaced by AI – at least for a while.
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