Cortana takes on Paul the Octopus for FIFA Predictions

Rewind yourself back to 2010, and you will remember how Paul the Octopus became the star of FIFA 2010 with his accurate predictions. Now, Microsoft's new personal digital assistant Cortana can be considered as a worthy replacement. We reported that Microsoft was successful in adding predictions to Cortana over the weekend, and she has successfully predicted four results, backing Brazil, Colombia, the Netherlands, and Costa Rica in their final 16 games. The new prediction functionality is part of regular updates that Microsoft makes to Cortana every two weeks, bringing simple improvements and new data to the service.
Cortana was predicting France and Germany will progress to the quarter-final stages, both of whom are favorites in their games. The results will further test Microsoft’s Bing predictions engine, which has previously forecast who would get voted off or win The Voice, Dancing With the Stars, and American Idol. Microsoft uses models to evaluate World Cup teams based on win / loss / tie records, game time, weather conditions, home advantages, and other factors. Some will be hoping Cortana isn't 100 percent though, as she's currently predicting Argentina will beat Switzerland in their game today.