SAN ANTONIO (AP) — The $1 million March Madness wager between a pro gambler and an artificial-intelligence site will be decided by the winner of the Duke-Houston game in the Final Four.
The Vegas bookies project the gambler, who picked 5 1/2-point favorite Duke, should win.
The AI platform 4C Predictions, which picked Houston, says that's why its smarter than them.
The bottom line: both pro gambler Sean Perry and the 4C's AI program have done very well over the first 60 games of the tournament. Perry has missed only 13 picks. AI has missed only 10. They both picked all the Final Four teams correctly.
Alan Levy, who runs the 4C site, says ChatGPT — who else? — says getting 50 of 60 correct places AI in the 95th percentile of all humans “which has gone beyond even what we expected at the start.”
The leaders in some of the multimillion-person bracket pools on ESPN, Yahoo and CBS are getting 55 or 56 picks right.
Both pickers chose Auburn to win in Saturday's other semifinal. Though AI has gotten more right, it could still lose because the picks become worth more points as the tournament progresses.
The tournament has largely been a bust for people who love upsets — good news for both these brackets, which largely stayed away from picking them. Both had Memphis and St. John's winning multiple games. Memphis fell to Colorado State in the first round and St. John's was gone after the second.
Levy said he is still analyzing Perry's offer to increase the bet to $10 million.
“My prediction?” Levy wrote in an email. “You’ll be joining me and the 4C team in all the celebrations" after Saturday's game.
AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness. Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here.
FILE - Duke forward Cooper Flagg (2) reacts after Duke beat Alabama in an Elite Eight round NCAA college basketball tournament game, Saturday, March 29, 2025, in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump remained defiant on Monday as global markets continued plunging and fears of a recession grew after his tariff announcement last week.
“Be Strong, Courageous, and Patient, and GREATNESS will be the result!” he wrote on Truth Social, his social media platform.
Trump accused other countries of “taking advantage of the Good OL’ USA!” on international trade and said “our past ‘leaders’ are to blame for allowing this.”
The Republican president has insisted his tariffs are necessary to rebalance global trade and rebuild domestic manufacturing. He has singled out China as “the biggest abuser of them all” and criticized Beijing for increasing its own tariffs in retaliation.
He also called on the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates. On Friday, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned that the tariffs could increase inflation, and he said “there’s a lot of waiting and seeing going on, including by us,” before any decisions would be made.
Trump spent the weekend in Florida, arriving on Thursday night to attend a Saudi-funded tournament at his Miami golf course. He stayed at Mar-a-Lago, his private club in Palm Beach, and golfed at two of his properties nearby.
On Sunday, he posted a video of himself hitting a drive, and he told reporters aboard Air Force One that evening that he won a club championship.
“It’s good to win,” Trump said. "You heard I won, right?”
He also said that he wouldn’t back down from his tariffs despite the turmoil in the global markets.
“Sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something," Trump said.
Goldman Sachs issued a new forecast saying a recession has become more likely even if Trump backtracks from his tariffs. The financial firm said economic growth would slow dramatically “following a sharp tightening in financial conditions, foreign consumer boycotts, and a continued spike in policy uncertainty that is likely to depress capital spending by more than we had previously assumed.
On Monday, the president is scheduled to welcome the Los Angeles Dodgers to the White House to celebrate their World Series victory. He's also meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and they're expected to hold a joint press conference in the afternoon.
Trump has strived for a united front after the chaotic infighting of his first term. However, the economic turbulence has exposed some fractures within his disparate coalition of supporters.
Bill Ackman, a hedge fund manager, lashed out at Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Sunday as “indifferent to the stock market and the economy crashing.” He said Cantor Fitzgerald, the financial firm led by Lutnick before he joined the Trump administration, stood to profit because of bond investments.
On Monday, Ackman apologized for his criticism but reiterated his concerns about Trump’s tariffs.
“I am just frustrated watching what I believe to be a major policy error occur after our country and the president have been making huge economic progress that is now at risk due to the tariffs," he wrote on X.
Top White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett told Fox News Channel that Ackman should “ease off the rhetoric a little bit.”
He insisted that other countries, not the United States, are “going to bear the brunt of the tariffs.”
Billionaire Elon Musk, a top adviser to Trump on overhauling the federal government, expressed skepticism about tariffs over the weekend. Musk has said that tariffs would drive up costs for Tesla, his electric automaker.
“I hope it is agreed that both Europe and the United States should move ideally in my view to a zero tariff situation, effectively creating a free trade zone between Europe and North America,” Musk said in a video conference with Italian politicians.
He added, “That certainly has been my advice to the president.”
Peter Navarro, a Trump trade adviser and tariff proponent, later told Fox News that Musk “doesn’t understand” the situation.
“He sells cars,” Navarro said. “That’s what he does.” He added that, “He’s simply protecting his own interests as any business person would do.”
Follow the AP's coverage of President Donald Trump at https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump.
President Donald Trump arrives at the White House on Marine One, Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
President Donald Trump walks down the stairs of Air Force One upon his arrival at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Sunday, April 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez)
President Donald Trump walks on the South Lawn as he arrives at the White House on Marine One, Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
President Donald Trump waves as he arrives at the White House on Marine One, Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
