10/6/2016 Can big data studies know your thoughts and predict who will win an election? https://theconversation.com/canbigdatastudiesknowyourthoughtsandpredictwhowillwinanelection63110 1/3 Authors David Tuffley Senior Lecturer in Applied Ethics and SocioTechnical Studies., Griffith University Bela Stantic Associate Professor, Griffith University Academic rigour, journalistic flair Who will win the battle for the White House to become the next President of the United States is a topic of hot debate. Much of that debate is taking place online, with plenty of people blogging, tweeting or updating social media with their thoughts on Donald Trump versus Hillary Clinton. This provides us with a rich source of information about what people are thinking and feeling about the election race. When our Big Data and Smart Analytics Lab analysed those comments on Twitter towards the end of July, it predicted that if the US Presidential election had been held at that time, Trump would have been the winner over Clinton. Two weeks later, a swing towards Clinton is making the result less certain. But how accurate is this type of prediction? Well, the same lab using the same method predicted and announced in a public lecture a week before the Australian federal election that the Coalition would win over the ALP. So it will be interesting to see what the lab’s prediction says of Trump versus Clinton as we get closer to the US election in November. Who’ll be the next president of the United States – Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton? Flickr/torbakhopper, CC BYNCND August 9, 2016 12.55pm AEST Can big data studies know your thoughts and predict who will win an election?