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posted by on Saturday November 19 2016, @01:14PM   Printer-friendly
from the simon-says-campaign-in-pennsylvania dept.

Submitted via IRC for chromas

The Clinton presidential campaign used a complex computer algorithm called Ada to assist in many of the most important decisions during the race.

According to aides, a raft of polling numbers, public and private, were fed into the algorithm, as well as ground-level voter data meticulously collected by the campaign. Once early voting began, those numbers were factored in, too.

What Ada did, based on all that data, aides said, was run 400,000 simulations a day of what the race against Trump might look like. A report that was spit out would give campaign manager Robby Mook and others a detailed picture of which battleground states were most likely to tip the race in one direction or another — and guide decisions about where to spend time and deploy resources.

Of course, the results are only as good as the data. Since the outcome of the election was different than most poll predictions, it seems like Ada may have had a Garbage In, Garbage Out problem.


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  • (Score: 5, Funny) by RamiK on Saturday November 19 2016, @03:00PM

    by RamiK (1813) on Saturday November 19 2016, @03:00PM (#429410)

    Hillary: AI computer on the wall, who's the best president-elect of them all?
    Watson: Famed is thy tenure, Majesty. But hold, a popular candidate I see. Old age cannot hide his gentle grace. Alas, he is more likely to be voted than thee.
    Hillary: Alas for him! Reveal his name.
    Watson: Infrastructure-driven development. Opposes the TPP. Wall Street reform.
    Hillary: Sanders!

    [Following a few back-stabs...]

    Hillary: AI computer on the wall, who, now, is the best president-elect of them all?
    Watson: Over the party lines, beyond the coastal regions, in the flyover states, dwells the best candidate of them all.
    Hillary: Sanders lies defeated in the primaries. Debbie Schultz has brought me proof. Behold, his endorsement.
    Watson: Trump still lives, best president-elect in the land. 'Tis the endorsement of another better candidate you hold in your hand.
    Hillary: Another better candidate! Then I've been tricked!

    --
    compiling...
    Starting Score:    1  point
    Moderation   +3  
       Funny=3, Total=3
    Extra 'Funny' Modifier   0  
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   5