What is Watson? Alex

One of the most interesting stories of this past week was about the IBM artificial intelligence machine that was built to compete on Jeopardy.  The machine, named Watson, competed and won against two other human opponents.

I remember a number of years ago when IBM made a similar statement by building a machine called “Deep Blue” that competed against the chess grand-champion, Gary Kasparov.  I remember feeling at the time, I did not want a “machine” to win.  As if I needed to protect humanity from the onslaught of machines!  Was there some Luddite in my blood?  For young people who don’t get that last reference, click on the Luddite link to learn about it.

Today, the “Win of Watson” was almost greeted with a yawn.  Big deal!  I think this goes to show how much we now embrace computers and machines as integral to our lives.  We are no longer competing but cooperating.

Watson was not perfect however.  Or better said, his programming was not perfect yet.  In the gaffe of the tournament, in the category of AMERICAN CITIES, Watson was asked, “Its largest airport is named for a World War II hero; its second largest for a World War II battle.”  Watson replied, “What is Toronto?”  Oops, basic geography hiccup.  The right answer was Chicago.

But let’s face it, “he” knew most of the answers and got to the buzzer much faster than his opponents.  His ultimate victory was a landslide,  winnings of $35,734 compared to$10,400 for the nearest challenger.  His programmers had succeeded in the difficult area of actually understanding the nuance of human language.

So where am I going with all this?  Machines are an extension of our brains.  They can be programmed to do some pretty amazing things.  And they represent a tremendously creative streak flowing from people.  What other animal or being on the planet can even conceive of this?  The Bible comes to mind, “we are fearfully and wonderfully made” Psalm 139:14.  We reflect some spark of the Divine and often times this shows up most in our creativity.

Here’s the point,  we also wish to make things that reflect the Creator who gave us life.  It’s in the genes.  Whether it is huge ships, impossible bridge spans, space voyages, or computers named Watson, we churn out a dizzying array of things that are pressing new frontiers.

To learn more about Watson, check out this entire website posted by IBM.  IBM Watson.