Science

Who Will Win Los Angeles Chargers vs. New York Giants? A.I. Predicts

Two winless teams staring at disaster.

Getty Images / Brian Blanco

The Los Angeles Chargers and New York Giants are both 0-4. Historically, that’s enough to declare their seasons over. But at least one team is going to emerge Sunday with a first win, and a hive mind of about 30 NFL fans picks the Giants to win Sunday at home.

Neither the Chargers nor Giants are probably quite as bad as their 0-4 records indicate. After a putrid start for the New York offense, the Giants have lost their past two games by a combined five points, and the Chargers have also come up just short in multiple games. Assuming they don’t tie — and hey, it could absolutely happen! — at least one team will finally have their hard, previously futile work pay off with a victory.

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From their last meeting in 2013.

Getty Images / Jeff Gross

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. 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 the New York Giants to win here, though it’s not the most certain pick — the low confidence choice has a not great 81 percent brainpower behind it.

Unanimous A.I.

Adding in the 3.5-point spread makes the swarm less confident in New York’s chances, with the swarm’s collective brainpower dropping to 76 percent.

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

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