They took some well-known methods from statistics, including something called matrix factorization, added bits of knowledge about movie recommenders (like the fact that movies seen longago tend to be rated highly) and then threw all of it against the wall to see what stuck.
Not longago the category of Best Picture was expanded to a whopping ten movies (every selected film also qualifies for the NHL playoffs.) There are fashion misfires and tributes to legends and occasionally some emotional payoffs, but the Oscars can't escape feeling predictable and dutiful, especially since a calendar stuffed with awards shows has already established a reliable pattern of winners.