After conquering the chess world with Deep Blue, IBM is taking the next step as Watson will be competing with human contestants on the television show Jeopardy!
IBM has been working on Watson for two years. It is a super computer with massively parallel analytical capabilities designed to handle semantics, the meaning of words. The computer will use statistical methods to determine the validity of its calculations. It will not be connected to the Internet or outside databases.
Jeopardy! is the long-running quiz game show covering a wide range of topics contestants need to quickly and accurately respond to.
Deep Blue was an IBM supercomputer designed to calculate over 200 million chess moves per second. It defeated World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov in 1997.
“The essence of making decisions is recognizing patterns in vast amounts of data, sorting through choices and options, and responding quickly and accurately,” said Samuel J. Palmisano, IBM Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer.
“Watson is a compelling example of how the planet – companies, industries, cities – is becoming smarter,” Palmisano said. “With advanced computing power and deep analytics, we can infuse business and societal systems with intelligence.”
First chess, then Jeopardy! Next, Survivor. o_O
[From IBM]
