| Benny |
05-13-2016 11:11 AM |
Swarm intelligence Derby betting coup?
Twenty punters collectively picked the top four horses in this year's race using a platform developed by an American company
https://cosmosmagazine.com/technolog...y-betting-coup
Swarm theory suggests that individual members of a group will influence each other to arrive at the most accurate or probable answer.
“Forcing polarised groups into a swarm allows them to find the answer that most people are satisfied with,” Rosenberg told Christian Science Monitor.
“Our vision is to enable the power of group intelligence for everybody.”
In the case of the Kentucky Derby, 20 volunteers – all horse racing fans – took part in a simple online exercise to pick the winner of the race.
Each logged into the UNU program and were asked a question at the exact same time.
The individual users then used magnet-shaped cursors to drag a digital puck towards what they believe to be the right answer.
The puck is pushed and pulled until a collaborative decision settles on one answer (see example in the video below).
A post-race poll of the 20 participants found that not one of them predicted the final line-up on their own.
It is not the UNU system’s first success at sports betting. In the past it has successfully predicting Super Bowls and NCAA bowl basketball games. It has also picked Academy Awards winners and presidential primary winners. |
