(2020 – TVO Original, 60’)
Margin of Error

A new artificial intelligence or “AI” method is shaking up the landscape of traditional polling. For decades, polls have relied on phone calls and surveys as the dominant way to predict elections. However, recent high profile failures such as Brexit and the 2016 U.S. election have instilled doubt in the public eye about polling’s methods and its reliability. The challenge is whether an AI can overcome those weaknesses and more effectively forecast public opinion. With the 2019 Canadian federal election as its backdrop, TVO Original Margin of Error puts “Polly”, the algorithm of a small Ottawa-based startup, to the test. Can this AI draw on social media data to predict the vote in the next election more accurately than the pollsters? 

Premiered on TVO October 17th, 2020. 

For International distribution, contact Kazz Basma at kazz@sidewaysfilm.com

http://www.sidewaysfilm.com/margin-of-error-ai-polling-and-elections/

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