AI Advice: Episode 3

Once again we're testing Google's Bard to see what predictions it makes about the chances of the teams and find out just how accurate a language model is at predicting a televised race! It sounds silly, but last week the AI successfully picked Harry and Emma to storm to the win, so maybe there's magic in all those AI circuits.

To check where things stand I asked bard for a recap of Episode 2. The results were.... interesting!

Episode 2 of Celebrity Race Across the World began with the four teams leaving Pinhão, Portugal, and heading for the second checkpoint in Bonifacio, Corsica. The teams were tasked with traveling over 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) through Spain and France, and they were not allowed to fly.

So far, so good. A reasonable summary of the episode.

The teams faced a number of challenges along the way. Harry and Emma struggled to find lifts, and Alex and Noel had to deal with a delayed bus. Billy and Bonny got lost on the way to their bus stop, and Melanie and Helene had to deal with a language barrier.

Despite the challenges, all of the teams eventually made it to Bonifacio. Harry and Emma were the first team to arrive, followed by Alex and Noel, Billy and Bonny, and Melanie and Helene.

Oh dear, as soon as we get into specifics, the AI seems more confidently incorrect. I don't think I remember any of those 'challenges', and it's missed out key elements like Alex and Noel getting stuck on the train, or being scared of seafood.

Not only that, but while they say computers are good with numbers, Harry and Emma being first is the only result in the right place!

Maybe because of that bias the results of asking it who to pick gave me a familiar answer:

Based on their performance in the first two episodes, I think that the team most likely to get to checkpoint three first is Harry Judd and his mother Emma. They have been consistently strong throughout the competition, and they have shown that they are able to work well together under pressure.

I'm not sure how 4th to checkpoint one, and 1st to checkpoint two shows 'consistently strong' but I'm not going to pick a fight with it. If you think you've got a more accurate analysis, get your prediction in before tonight's show!