Science

Who Will Win Indianapolis Colts vs. Seattle Seahawks? A.I. Predicts

The Seahawks look to get back on track.

Getty Images / Getty Images

The Seattle Seahawks have looked seriously underwhelming so far, starting 1-2 with their only win a close one against the lowly San Francisco 49ers. But this Sunday they get the Indianapolis Colts, a team dealing with much deeper problems, and a hive mind of more than 35 NFL fans pick Seattle to win.

The Indianapolis Colts did notch their first win of the season last week, beating a favored — if still fairly lowly — Cleveland Browns squad. That’s good! But the Colts remain without injured quarterback Andrew Luck, and they aren’t really a complete team without him under center. The Seattle Seahawks have struggled, but they have shown in past seasons the ability to put things back together after a slow start.

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From their last meeting in 2013.

Getty Images / Jonathan Moore

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.

Unanimous A.I.

The swarm likes Seattle here a ton, with 91 percent of the swarm’s collective brainpower picking the Seahawks to win with high confidence.

Unanimous A.I.

Thirteen points is a massive spread, especially when both teams in question are 1-2. As such, it’s not surprising the swarm picks the Colts to keep the game close — and really, 10 to 12 points isn’t that close — with 78 percent of the hive mind’s collective brainpower backing Indy.

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

If you liked this article, check out this video of Google DeepMind teaching its A.I. how to dream.

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