Who Will Win Arizona Cardinals vs. Philadelphia Eagles? A.I. Predicts
This ought to be close.
The Philadelphia Eagles have exceeded expectations this year, posting a 3-1 record through the first quarter of the season. The Arizona Cardinals are a respectable 2-2 as they push ahead without injured star running back David Johnson. A hive mind of about 30 NFL fans except the home team to prevail Sunday, picking the Eagles to win at home.
What could be fun about this particular matchup is both teams have a knack for taking things down to the wire. Of their five combined victories, four of them have come be three points or fewer. Both teams’ fondness for tiny margins could collide Sunday, making for an entertaining clash between two solid teams.
Subscribe to the Inverse newsletter. Trust us, we’re from the future.
From their last meeting in 2015.
To predict the result of this and other games, Unanimous A.I. used what’s known as swarm intelligence to forecast the week’s slate. More than 40 NFL fans worked together as a hive mind to make picks. As you can see in the animation below, each participant controlled a little golden magnet and used it to drag the puck toward the answer they thought was the most likely outcome. As the users saw the puck move toward a particular outcome, it triggers a psychological response. They readjust their decision-making, building toward a consensus. Here’s Unanimous A.I. founder Lloyd Rosenberg explaining swarm intelligence at a recent TEDx Talk.
Unanimous A.I. has made some scarily accurate predictions in the past using swarm intelligence, as our previous article explains. For instance, the swarm went a perfect 7-0 in its most recommended picks for a recent English Premier League slate.
The hive mind is pretty certain Philadelphia is going to win this one, with the only real question that of confidence. The swarm ultimately settles on the low confidence pick, with most of the dissenters till pulling for the Eagles.
The Eagles need to win by at least a touchdown to cover the spread, and the swarm doesn’t feel great about this — 73 percent behind a low confidence pick is a pretty dubious proposition.
The game kicks off 1 p.m. Eastern Sunday on CBS.
