Science

Who Will Win Packers vs. Patriots? A.I. Predicts Rodgers vs. Brady

Here's how a swarm of 32 NFL experts predicted this one turning out.

by T.E. Andrews

It’ll be high noon at the Foxborough Corral (okay, 8:20 p.m. on NBC) when these two grizzled gunslingers face off in only their third meeting of all time.

Braydee. Rajahs. Uggs. Discount Double Check. A Hall of Fame-caliber curmudgeon of a coach who isn’t bothered by kids offering pre-game low-fives. A terrible coach who isn’t bothered by his own quarterback telling him how much he sucks at his job. This game has it all. The heroic Rodgers represents all that is cool and good in the world and will wear the white hat in this one, while the dastardly swagless wonder, Tom Brady, will wear the black hat, as the villain represents all that is wrong in the world.

At this point, Aaron Rodgers is basically a football Cup o’ Noodles: give him some water, the football, and some time to heat up, and you can open the microwave a couple of minutes later and pull out a win. Of course, you still have to give him the ball—something that Ty Montgomery did not do in last week’s loss to the Rams. In definitely unrelated news, the Packers immediately shipped out Ty Montgomery via trade to the Ravens. Correlation does not equal causation, my friends.

Meanwhile, after tantalizing us with hopes of their demise via an uninspired 1-2 start to the season, the Patriots have quietly put together a five-game winning streak and once again, look like their terrible and successful selves. New England did not escape entirely unscathed from last week’s 25-6 win over Buffalo, however, after receiving this savage burn.

Vegas likes the Evil Empire in this one by nearly a touchdown. Do we have the courage to get our hopes up again and pick the Pack? Yes, yes we do. Here’s hoping. Packers 30, Patriots 27 is our prediction, but how did a hive-mind of NFL experts predict this one turning out?

To predict the result of this Week 9 match-up, Unanimous A.I. used what’s known as swarm intelligence to forecast the week’s slate. Some 32 NFL enthusiasts 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 decision, it triggered a psychological response. They readjusted their decision-making, building toward the consensus you see below. It’s an artificial intelligence produced by human brains working together as a swarm.

As you can see, the swarm has this anticipated Week 9 match-up going to the Patriots, selecting “low confidence” for New England to win. In making that “low confidence” decision, the swarm was 75 percent in agreement.

The Packers play at the Patriots at 8:20 p.m. Eastern Sunday on NBC.

Here’s how Unanimous A.I. has predicted previous NFL games this season.

Unanimous A.I. has made some scarily accurate predictions in the past using swarm intelligence, as our this 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:

Want to join the hive mind that picks NFL matches every week? Sign up to participate in future predictions.

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