Can a computer fill out a March Madness bracket better than humans? So far this year, it doesn’t look like it. As the Sweet 16 kicks off Thursday with four NCAA men’s basketball tournament games, we took a look at Microsoft Bing’s bracket performance thus far. Bing, which used “intelligent machine-learning technology to analyze social and search signals” to make its bracket predictions, is 34-14 so far through 48 games played. It missed eight picks in the first round, and another six in the second round. Bing also only has two Final Four teams remaining — it picked Louisville and Villanova (its… Read More
Can Villanova repeat as national champs? Is this finally Gonzaga’s year? How far will Northwestern go? Don’t ask us. If you really want help with your NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship bracket, go ask Bing. The folks at the Microsoft search engine say they use “intelligent machine-learning technology to analyze social and search signals” in making their March Madness bracket a better bet than the one filled out by your kid. After not watching a single college basketball game this season (guilty — Syracuse fan!) I’m a little apprehensive about filling out a bracket in the next several hours. But Bing sure… Read More
Embed from Getty Images The New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons — the two best teams in the National Football League — will square off on Sunday in Super Bowl LI, and Microsoft’s Bing search engine is predicting which one will be crowned champions. According to Bing’s number crunching, the Patriots have a 52.3 percent chance of winning, as of Thursday. Bing applies machine-learning web data to inform its predictions on everything from sporting events to political contests. Its “traditional statistical models” are coupled with “social listening and search analysis.” Last year, Bing predicted New England would repeat as Super Bowl champs… Read More
The Denver Broncos and the Carolina Panthers kick off the NFL season tonight in a rematch of Super Bowl 50, and based on a Bing prediction that gives Carolina a 57 percent chance of winning, quarterback Cam Newton may actually stick around for the full post-game press conference. Microsoft’s search engine is back with weekly predictions for all the NFL games thanks to Bing Predicts, which uses “search, social, and other relevant data to make intelligent predictions about upcoming events.” Scanning the schedule shows a few lopsided predictions in the week one mix. The Seattle Seahawks are a 78 percent favorite… Read More
