The most accurate predictor of the knockout stages, Microsoft’s predictions, have been perfect for every match of the final stage of the World Cup. Generated using a mathematical model, Microsoft predicted an Argentina-Germany final. And it has been predicting a German victory today.
The predictions, delivered in its Bing search engine results and through its Cortana virtual assistant on Windows phones, are part of a broader effort to give people not just relevant search results, but information about the things that interest them that keeps them coming back to Bing, according to Craig Beilinson, Microsoft’s director of consumer communications.
“The elimination round has been magical for us here at as we watch all of these predictions come true,” Beilinson says. “It’s been a fun computer science experience here and we think a lot about where we can take it. We hope it’s fun for people to see more than just search results, to see more information that they can follow.”
The Microsoft team started out making predictions for things where people determine the outcome, specifically reality TV shows where people vote including The Voice, American Idol, andDancing With the Stars, using things like search data and analysis of social sentiment from data partnerships with Facebook and Twitter.
http://qz.com/233830/world-cup-germany-argentina-predictions-microsoft/