Why AI could replace NFL first-down markers sooner than you might think

For more than 100 years, football has been officiated using a simple chain 10 yards long. The so-called chain gang has been the sport’s judge and jury, ruling whether a ball traveled the number of yards needed for a team to get a first down — and four more chances to score.

But artificial intelligence and new technology could soon make the chain gang obsolete, with an advanced system known as Hawk-Eye aspiring to make the game faster and more accurate by mashing together high-tech…