Microsoft is aiming to use the “Bing Prediction Engine” to tell who will win Eurovision 2015.
The prediction engine grew to fame after it accurately predicted the outcome of 15 matches in the FIFA World Cup Finals back in 2014. It went on to predict the winners of the U.S. elections last year and came away with a 95 percent strike record.
With this on the table, it is clear why Microsoft would want to test Bing’s prediction engine at Eurovision 2015. It would be great for publicity, and could possibly bring more users to the search platform.
According to Microsoft, it can accurately predict the winner of the contest ahead of the final using the Bing prediction engine. The final takes place in Vienna, Austria this Saturday, so we will be keeping a close eye on things to see if Bing is truly a master at predicting the future.
For those who might not be familiar with Eurovision, it is a competition where member nations of the European Broadcasting Union compete for glory. The show is watched by hundreds of millions of people around the world and is probably the most popular singing contest in Europe at the moment.
The winner of each Eurovision over the years is chosen by national voting of each member country. It’s also a points-based system, as each nation scores the top 10 performances from other countries. The first choice receives 12 points, second place receives 10 while third only gets 8 points. All points are then tallied across Europe to determine which contestant comes out as the winner.
Not everyone is in agreement with the point system, as they view it as political. Apparently, countries with close ties tend to award each other high points, so this would make predicting the winner of Eurovision quite difficult for Bing’s prediction engine going forward.
At the end of the day, the Bing prediction engine predicts Italy will win the next Eurovision. Things could change though, as Bing’s prediction is not final.
