Science

Who Will Win Los Angeles Chargers vs. Oakland Raiders? A.I. Predicts

Are the Raiders doomed?

Getty Images / Thearon W. Henderson

It was all going so nicely for the Oakland Raiders — well, for all of two games. But three straight losses and an injury to quarterback Derek Carr have the Raiders scrambling. Can the Chargers capitalize for their second win? A hive mind of about 30 NFL fans predicts the Raiders will win Sunday.

After making the playoffs last season for the first time in more than a decade, the Raiders looked set to build on that success this season. It’s not too late for Oakland to right the ship, but they can’t afford to lose a fourth straight game and join their rival Chargers at the bottom of the AFC West. Los Angeles, for its part, has been a bit better than its record might indicate, but i

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From their last meeting in December 2016.

Getty Images / Harry How

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.

Because of injury uncertainties around Carr, there was no line for Unanimous A.I. to have the swarm pick against. So it’s just a question of who will win straight-up, and the swarm likes the Raiders to get back to .500 with the win. It’s only a low confidence pick, but you can see little dissent in the Chargers’ favor here.

The game kicks off 4:25 p.m. Eastern Sunday on CBS.

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