Science

Who Will Win Tennessee Titans vs. Houston Texans? A.I. Predicts

The Titans look to make a move in the AFC South.

Getty Images / Wesley Hitt

The Tennessee Titans are 2-1 with a chance to make a serious play in the AFC South. They can take a nice little step toward a division title with a victory over the rival Houston Texans Sunday, and a hive mind of more than 35 NFL fans like the Titans to do just that and get the win.

Third-year quarterback Marcus Mariota and the Titans have looked solid so far this season, with their 37-16 victory over a Jacksonville Jaguars team that turned around and beat the Baltimore Ravens 44-7 looking very, very good, transitively speaking. For their part, the Texans are looking to get to .500 and keep the AFC South very much up for grabs.

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From their last meeting on New Year's Day 2017.

Getty Images / Wesley Hitt

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. Most recently, the swarm went a perfect 7-0 in its most recommended picks for last week’s English Premier League slate.

The swarm is ultimately behind the Titans here, with 76 percent brainpower for the low confidence pick, but look at where all the magnets are. Opinions are across the board here, with plenty of dissent in favor of the Texans winning.

There’s even less certainty around who will win against the spread, with an extremely low 58 percent of the hive mind’s collective brainpower picking Tennessee here. Tread very lightly.

The game kicks off 1 p.m. Eastern Sunday on CBS.

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