Who Will Win Dallas Cowboys vs. Washington? A.I. Predicts
Two NFC East teams look to make a move.
The NFC East has a clear hierarchy: The 6-1 Philadelphia Eagles are at the top, and the 1-6 New York Giants are at the bottom. In the middle, however, are the Dallas Cowboys and Washington, both 3-3. A hive mind of about 35 NFL fans predicts Washington will make a move Sunday, picking them to win.
The Cowboys have won four straight on the road in Washington, and their opponents are dealing with some significant injuries. But Washington so far has only lost to the best, dropping both their games against the rival Eagles and another game to the 5-2 Kansas City Chiefs. That’s about as unblemished a record as a 3-3 team could ever hope to have.
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From their last meeting on Thanksgiving Day 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 Louis 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 deeply uncertain about this one, taking forever to make a decision. In the end, the home team is the pick here, but only with low confidence and a terrifying low 66 percent brainpower behind the pick.
The addition of a 2.5-point spread does nothing to clarify things. Washington remains the low confidence pick, but now the brainpower is down to 57 percent. This is a game to watch and nothing else, basically.
The game kicks off 4:25 p.m. Eastern Sunday on Fox.
