IBM’s supercomputer named Watson won the US television quiz show "Jeopardy", beating its two human competitors.
Watson has won the prize of $1m after a three night marathon man versus machine contest. IBM had pledged the entire prize money to charity.
In 1997, IBM famously had its Deep Blue supercomputer take on former world chess champion Garry Kasparov.
This time, IBM has said that the AI (artificial intelligence) tested is quite a different form from that or even the kind of deep algorithmic knowledge Deep Blue had. Instead, it is about adaptation and flexibility and a test of the way the software can handle the speed of response required (sub three seconds) and the subtle nature of the clues and the lateral thinking you may need to solve them.
To win in the long-running TV quiz game Jeopardy, one has to work backwards from answers to a question form. The range of questions is broad, running from history to pop music to sports. The participant has to rely on subtle meanings, puns, and riddles; something believed to give humans the edge over computers.
Now in its 47th year, the show is one of the most popular on American television.
Watson’s competitors, Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter, were two of the most successful players ever to have participated in the quiz.
IBM’s technology to collect and analyse information in a faster and better way than a human could be used in the medical, legal or financial sectors.
IBM research senior vice-president and director Dr John E Kelly III said the company can transform the way that health care professionals accomplish everyday tasks by enabling them to work smarter and more efficiently.
