West Ham United and Palace have suffered up-and-down seasons and been victim to inconsistent form. They’ve both got new veteran managers overseeing their play this season, and both have had trouble scoring goals, which is why Tuesday’s match at West Ham’s new home ground, the Olympic Stadium, is so difficult to predict.
But 35 Premier League enthusiasts, operating as a “hive mind” of sorts, have tipped West Ham to win at home, by one goal. To predict the result of this and other matches, San Francisco-based technology firm Unanimous A.I. used what’s known as “swarm intelligence” to forecast this fixture.
Here’s how the AI-backed process — machine learning is used to “smooth out” decision making — works: Each participant controlled a little golden magnet and used it to drag the puck toward the answer they thought was the most likely outcome. In these exercises, when a user sees the puck move toward a particular outcome, it triggers a psychological response. The user readjusts their decision-making, and the group builds toward a consensus. Here’s their prediction for the Hammers hosting Palace:
Will it be West Ham by 1?
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 already this season in the English Premier League.
West Ham vs. Crystal Palace kicks off at 2:45 p.m. Eastern time on Tuesday.
