Is PSA now using AI to grade most cards?

[parkplace33]

Title says it all. This has been talked about in the past, but do we have any confirmation PSA is now using AI to grade most cards?

I believe this to be true based on the amount of cards they are grading monthly these days. Look at the chart. This are PSA grading numbers since 2021. I just don’t see how humans could possibly grade all the cards per month. Sure, I think for the high dollar cards they get a human look, but for most, I think it is all AI.

[raulus]

I mean…seems entirely plausible to hire more people and tell them to work faster. If they can assign a grade in 30 seconds, then 20 seconds shouldn’t be that much harder.

I’m not convinced that the technology is really there to do much of the grading.

Edited to add: I suspect AI is generally okay when it comes to creating text based on information that is available online or that the AI has been fed. But when it comes to visual stuff, I’m not convinced that it has any ability to really tell what it’s looking at.

[CardPadre]

I really don't believe there is any AI grading in use by any reputable company. They do have more locations now, and that has to come with more grading staff, but doubtful there is anything more to it than that.

[Lorewalker]

Most of the cards are Pokemon, first of all. Next would be Ultra Modern. Very small percentage makes up vintage. They have over 200 graders in house just for Pokemon, if I heard Ryan Hoge correctly in his most recent interview.

[Johnny630]

Drew I tend to agree. I’m thinking most cards early 2000’s and up are getting graded by AI. Higher grading service levels I would assume are still all being graded by the hum eye.

[parkplace33]

Originally Posted by Lorewalker

Most of the cards are Pokemon, first of all. Next would be Ultra Modern. Very small percentage makes up vintage. They have over 200 graders in house just for Pokemon, if I heard Ryan Hoge correctly in his most recent interview.

Even with 200, could they grade over 1.5 million cards with just humans? I don’t think so.

[brunswickreeves]

Just imagine receivables unboxing process and time it takes for hundreds of thousands of cards/boxes per month…yes some of those millions of orders are bulk orders, but many are singles, too.

[BioCRN]

How do they operate when it comes to the grading talent? Is it a 24 hour (or near) shift-operated operation or are graders working a normal 9-to-5 where the business puts in their 8-ish hours and shuts for the day?

[Balticfox]

Originally Posted by parkplace33

Title says it all. This has been talked about in the past, but do we have any confirmation PSA is now using AI to grade most cards?

Certainly be nice if they started using some kind of intelligence.



What gets to me though is that droves of collectors keep sending their cards off to be glanced at for less than ten seconds by disinterested employees to whom the job is simple drudgery.

[FromVAtoLA]

PSA has been using AI and scanning technologies to support graders since at least 2021 when they acquired Genamint. They have competitors like TAG that rely almost exclusively on scanning and AI. It's only effective on ultramodern and some modern. TCG surpassed sports cards by submitted volume some time ago.

[Schlesinj]

Patent application per Paul Lesko tweet, sounds like using AI to me. By the way, if they can do certain things to be more efficient I am not opposed to it. They scan every card, so data has been built to have authentic cards in a system to help make decisions.




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[Brian Van Horn]

Oversimplification here, but I would say yes.

https://www.net54baseball.com/showth...ghlight=August

1.66 million graded in August. Now, let's just say with August being a 31-day month you subtract four weekends which leaves 23 days. I know this falls under the old saying "If ifs and buts were candy and nuts...." but I will let Don Meredith rest in peace and if you want to listen to the song, it is up to you.

Now for the math:

1,660,000
divided by 184 hours (23 eight-hour workdays)
Equals 8,695.65 per hour

Now, with AI there is no work limit. Quality control......hmmm. Time and weekends off at PSA? Thus, the calculations could be way off.

[Bigdaddy]

My take:

Originally Posted by Schlesinj

By if they can do certain things to be more efficient repeatable on grades and more accurate on detecting alterations, I am not opposed to it.

If today's AI can generate Tilly Norwood, then it surely can pick out a number between 1 and 10 to represent the condition of a card and tell if has been altered or not.