Who Will Win Seattle Seahawks vs. Los Angeles Rams? A.I. Predicts
Could the Rams be for real?
The Los Angeles Rams are 3-1, with their offense powering them to a surprising string of victories. Their division rival Seattle Seahawks have looked shaky, with their offense absent for long stretches. A hive mind of about 30 NFL fans tries to pick a winner here, but it’s flummoxed by who to choose.
The Rams have had to win some shootouts against some bad teams to get to their early winning record, so it’s probably too early to declare them the cream of the NFC West. But they have been consistently fun to watch, which is more than can be said for a Seahawks team that has struggled to do much with the ball so far.
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From their last meeting in December 2016.
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.
Seriously, the swarm has no idea here. It’s probably fair to say the choice does come down to picking the Rams with either high or low confidence, but there’s also plenty of dissent in Seattle’s favor too. On balance, this is a Rams pick, but it’s hard to feel great about this one.
The swarm at least makes up its mind more quickly when it comes to picking against the spread, picking the Rams with low confidence and moving on. With only 75 percent brainpower behind the pick, it’s best to treat this game with caution.
The game kicks off 1 p.m. Eastern Sunday on CBS.
