Science

Who Will Win Chicago Bears vs. Baltimore Ravens? A.I. Predicts

Just who are the Ravens?

Getty Images / Ezra Shaw

It’s not hard to understand what the Chicago Bears are. They’re a rebuilding team with a promising but green new quarterback. But the Ravens? Well, they’re a bit more confusing. Even so, a hive mind of about 30 NFL fans predicts the Ravens will win Sunday.

Baltimore started the season with a pair of dominating victories, including a road shutout of the rival Cincinnati Bengals. Then they got routed a couple times themselves, including a 44-7 embarrassment to the Jacksonville Jaguars, who are potentially much improved this year but are still the Jacksonville Jaguars. Then they turned around and beat Oakland convincingly on the road. Your guess is as good as mine, but getting to play the lowly Bears has a way of clarifying things.

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From their last meeting in 2013.

Getty Images / Jonathan Daniel

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 doesn’t have many doubts here, picking Baltimore to win with high confidence and 93 percent collective brainpower.

Unanimous A.I.

Baltimore needs to win by at least a touchdown to cover the spread. That’s enough to drop the swarm’s brainpower significantly, down to just 75 percent, but it remains a high confidence pick.

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

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