Science

Who Will Win Washington vs. Philadelphia Eagles? A.I. Predicts

The Eagles could be set to dominate the whole NFL.

Getty Images / Streeter Lecka

The Philadelphia Eagles are the only team left in the NFL with just one loss as they head into their divisional tilt against Washington. A win Monday night could establish them as the team to beat as the season nears its second half. A hive mind of about 30 NFL fans predict the Eagles will do exactly that, picking them to win Monday.

Don’t sleep on Washington, though. They come into the game at 3-2, but their losses are to the Eagles in the opening week and to the Kansas City Chiefs, which is also the only team to beat Philly so far this year. Taking out the one game they played against each other, Washington and Philadelphia are 0-2 against the Chiefs and 8-0 against everyone else.

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From their last meeting in December 2016.

Getty Images / Evan Habeeb

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 Louis 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 has little doubt in Philadelphia, picking them to win with high confidence and 84 percent brainpower behind the pick.

Unanimous A.I.

The addition of a 4.5-point spread makes the hive mind a touch more hesitant, but it still picked the Eagles with high confidence, and only a slightly smaller 79 percent collective brainpower behind the choice.

The game kicks off 8:30 p.m. Eastern Monday on ESPN.

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