The eighth-seeded Missouri Tigers have managed to survive the season-opening loss of potential NBA lottery pick Michael Porter Jr., and the star forward’s return gives them a shot to exceed expectations in March Madness.
But to do that, first they have to get past a ninth-seeded Florida State Seminoles squad with some big victories over Atlantic Coast Conference heavyweights like North Carolina, Miami, and Clemson. A hive mind of fans predicts just who will emerge victorious in this tight matchup.
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. About 50 college basketball 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.
The hive mind has predicted another upset, this time favoring Florida St. over higher-seeded Missouri with low confidence. This selection was made with 76 percent of the swarm’s brainpower making it likely that the Seminoles will walk away with the win.
Read more from Inverse: The Perfect NCAA Bracket Is A.I.’s Biggest Sports Challenge Yet
Unanimous A.I. has made some scarily accurate predictions in the past using swarm intelligence, as our previous article explains. For instance, the swarm picked this year’s Oscar winners with 94 percent accuracy. Here’s Unanimous A.I. founder Louis Rosenberg explaining swarm intelligence at a recent TEDx Talk.
The game tips off Friday at 9:50 p.m. Eastern in Nashville, Tennessee on TBS.
