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Domain: cbssports.com

Stories and comments across the archive that link to cbssports.com.

Stories · 5

  1. Swarm AI Spectacularly Fails To Predict Kentucky Derby Winners A Second Time (techrepublic.com)

    Ai · · posted by ryuzaki0 · from the running-for-the-roses dept. · 83 comments
    Thursday TechRepublic described the big prediction: In May 2016, a relatively unknown startup called Unanimous A.I. made big headlines when its AI-based platform used collective intelligence to create a prediction for the Kentucky Derby superfecta -- the top four horses, in order of finish. It made exactly the right pick, which returned $541.10 on a $1 bet... Churchill Downs took notice last year and decided to collaborate with Unanimous A.I. to create an official AI swarm made up of handicappers and racing analysts to predict the top finishers for this year's Derby. The track is calling this the "super-expert" Derby pick. On Wednesday, the handicappers logged into Unanimous A.I.'s UNU platform from across the US, and answered a series of questions that gradually narrowed down their picks from the field of 20 horses until they created consensus on the top four picks and the order of finish.
    Here's my report on the results...
    Below are the picks that resulted from the "AI swarm" guessing which of the 20 thoroughbreds in today's race were most likely to win -- along with each horse's actual finishing position in parentheses (as reported by CBS).
    • 1. Classic Empire (finished 4th)
    • 2. McCracken (finished 8th)
    • 3. Irish War Cry (finished 10th)
    • 4. Always Dreaming (finished 1st)
    • 5. Hence (finished 11th)
    • 6. Gunnevera (finished 7th)
    • 7. Practical Joke (finished 5th)
    • 8. Battle of Midway (finished 3rd)
    • 9. Tapwrit (finished 6th)
    • 10. J Echo Boys (finished 15th)
    • 11. Sonneteer (finished 16th)

    TechRepublic reports that the swarm "also picked the unheralded horses with the best chance of sneaking into the top four."

    • 1. Practical Joke (finished 5th)
    • 2. Battle of Midway (finished 3rd)
    • 3. Tapwrit (finished 6th)
    • 4. J Boys Echo (finished 15th)

    But even before the race, there were suspicions the AI swarm couldn't successfully predict this year's winners, according to TechRepublic. "While last year's swarm was clear-cut because it was a top-heavy field with a few outstanding horses, this year's swarm reflected the fact that the race is more of a toss-up in 2017."

  2. College Student Got 15 Million Miles By Hacking United Airlines (fortune.com)

    News · Security · · posted by BeauHD · from the frequent-flyer dept. · 79 comments
    An anonymous reader quotes a report from Fortune: University of Georgia Tech student Ryan Pickren used to get in trouble for hacking websites -- in 2015, he hacked his college's master calendar and almost spent 15 years in prison. But now he's being rewarded for his skills. Pickren participated in United Airlines' Bug Bounty Program and earned 15 million United miles. At two cents a mile, that's about $300,000 worth. United's white hat hacking program invites computer experts to legally hack their systems, paying up to one million United miles to hackers who can reveal security flaws. At that rate, we can presume Pickren reported as many as 15 severe bugs. The only drawback to all those free miles? Taxes. Having earned $300,000 of taxable income from the Bug Bounty Program, Pickren could owe the Internal Revenue Service tens of thousands of dollars. He's not keeping all of the, though: Pickren donated five million miles to Georgia Tech. The ultimate thank-you for not pressing charges last year. In May, certified ethical hackers at Offensi.com identified a bug allowing remote code execution on one of United Airlines' sites and were rewarded with 1,000,000 Mileage Plus air miles. Instead of accepting the award themselves, they decided to distribute their air miles among three charities.

  3. In a Hole, Golf Courses Experiment With 15-inch Holes

    Business · · posted by ryuzaki0 · from the more-like-a-hole-in-zero dept. · 405 comments
    Hugh Pickens DOT Com (2995471) writes "According to the National Golf Foundation, golf has lost five million players in the last decade with 20 percent of the existing 25 million golfers apt to quit in the next few years. Now Bill Pennington writes that golf courses across the country are experimenting with 15 inch golf holes the size of pizzas to stop people from quitting the game. "We've got to stop scaring people away from golf by telling them that there is only one way to play the game and it includes these specific guidelines," says Ted Bishop, president of the PGA of America. "We've got to offer more forms of golf for people to try. We have to do something to get them into the fold, and then maybe they'll have this idea it's supposed to be fun." A 15-inch-hole event was held at the Reynolds Plantation resort last week featuring top professional golfers Sergio García and Justin Rose, the defending United States Open champion. "A 15-inch hole could help junior golfers, beginning golfers and older golfers score better, play faster and like golf more," says García, who shot a six-under-par 30 for nine holes in the exhibition. Another alternative is foot golf, in which players kick a soccer ball from the tee to an oversize hole, counting their kicks. Still it is no surprise that not everyone agrees with the burgeoning alternative movement to make golf more user-friendly. "I don't want to rig the game and cheapen it," says Curtis Strange, a two-time United States Open champion and an analyst for ESPN. "I don't like any of that stuff. And it's not going to happen either. It's all talk.""

  4. Wealthy Americans Turning To Europe For Medical Treatment

    Science · · posted by samzenpus · from the I-can-afford-to-heal-this-well dept. · 519 comments
    theodp writes "Fox Sports' Jay Glazer reports that prior to undergoing recent neck surgery, Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning flew to Europe for stem-cell therapy that's used overseas but not yet in the United States. Earlier this year, Fortune reported that prior to his liver transplant, Apple CEO Steve Jobs took an unpublicized flight to Switzerland to undergo an unusual radiological treatment which was not available in the U.S. Some Americans are willing to go abroad to seek what they can't find at home in hopes of improving — or saving — their lives, and health providers are eager to respond. 'It moves fast, this industry,' said the director of Medical Tours International in 2007. 'They think, 'Look at all these sick, rich patients.''"

  5. Digitally Filtering Out the Drone of the World Cup

    News · Themedia · · posted by timothy · from the it's-called-an-off-switch-use-it dept. · 602 comments
    qubezz writes "World Cup soccer fans may think a hornet's nest has infiltrated their TVs. However the buzz that is the background soundtrack of the South African-hosted games comes from tens of thousands of plastic horns called vuvuzelas, that are South Africa's version of ringing cowbells or throwing rats. It looks like the horns won't be banned anytime soon though. A savvy German hacker, 'Tube,' discovered that the horn sound can be effectively filtered out by applying a couple of digital notch filters to the audio at the frequencies the horn produces (another summary in English). Now it looks like even broadcasters like the the BBC and others are considering using such filters on their broadcasts."