Science

Who Will Win Oakland Raiders vs. Miami Dolphins? A.I. Predicts

Two teams looking to turn things around.

by Alasdair Wilkins
Getty Images / Tom Szczerbowski

The Oakland Raiders have dropped five of six. The Miami Dolphins are coming off a 40-0 blowout loss at the hands of the Baltimore Ravens. One of these teams has to turn it around on Sunday. A hive mind of about 30 NFL fans predicts the Raiders will win.

That makes some sense, considering the Raiders have actually been a disappointing 3-5. The Dolphins, if anything, have mildly overachieved in reaching 4-3, especially since they have had to reshuffle the quarterback position multiple times in the wake of injury. The Raiders are healthier now than they were in the midst of the worst of their losing streak, and that ought to give them the edge against a mediocre Dolphins squad. But nothing has come easy for Oakland this season as they attempt to return to the playoffs for a second straight year.

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From their last meeting in 2014.

Getty Images / Richard Heathcote

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.

Unanimous A.I.

The swarm likes Oakland to win here, albeit with low confidence and 78 percent brainpower behind the choice.

Unanimous A.I.

The hive mind predicts a margin of victory for Oakland of about four to six points, with 82 percent brainpower behind that prediction. The Vegas line favors Oakland by three points, so proceed very carefully.

The game kicks off 8:30 p.m. Eastern Sunday on NBC.

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