The 2015 Academy Awards are on today, and Microsoft's Bing has its Oscars 2015 pool all filled out. Even better, it's created a handy list of predicted winners for you to crib.
Once again, Microsoft has put its social sniffer to work, using online chatter about the projected Oscar winners, media predictions, and the winners of other awards shows to calculate who will win the Academy Awards. The picks so far? Birdman for Best Picture, Eddie Redmayne for Best Actor, and Julianne Moore for Best Actress.
On Windows Phone, Microsoft will simply tell you who it expects will win. On the Web, Bing issues a percentage prediction. And for this year's Academy Awards, the race is rather tight: Bing gives Birdman a 37 per cent chance of winning, and Boyhood a 33 per cent chance. Redmayne is also given a 42 per cent chance to pick up the Oscar statuette, with Michael Keaton close behind at 32 per cent. Only Moore is a virtual lock: Bing thinks she has an 80 per cent chance to win the award for Best Actress. Ditto for J.K. Simmons, whom Bing gives a 70 per cent chance to win as Best Supporting Actor.
Microsoft has also put its Bing technology to work to pick World Cup winners, who was projected to win each NFL football game, the winner of the Super Bowl, Grammy winners, and more. It's worth noting that Bing did fairly well in picking weekly NFL football winners - getting about two-thirds right, according to Business Insider--about what Las Vegas oddsmakers predicted. (Bing predicts winners "straight up," while Las Vegas factors in a point spread.) Microsoft also correctly picked the New England Patriots to win the Super Bowl, and the winner for Record of the Year and more at the Grammy awards.
Naturally, Microsoft also has a printable Oscar ballot for you to fill out. Who do you think will win? Just shout it to the world on social media - chances are that Bing will see it.
