When Computers Rule Trivia

Mon, 21 Feb 2011 11:51:04 -0500
news, politics, usdemocrazy

Between zombies and robots, Hollywood has the apocalypse pretty well covered.

We may have a long way to go before killer robots eradicate all human life, but IBM has taken the first step in that direction.

They have developed a thinking, reasoning, and learning 15 terabyte computer named Watson. Oh ya and it kicks tail at Jeopardy!

Jeopardy! fanatics may be aware of Ken Jennings, one of the all time super geek nerd trivia masters. He and phenom Brad Rutter went head to head with Watson on a special Man vs Machine Jeopardy! match up.

Jennings writes about out-thinking a robot:

“Watson has lots in common with a top-ranked human Jeopardy! player: It’s very smart, very fast, speaks in an uneven monotone, and has never known the touch of a woman. But unlike us, Watson cannot be intimidated. It never gets cocky or discouraged. It plays its game coldly, implacably, always offering a perfectly timed buzz when it’s confident about an answer. Jeopardy! devotees know that buzzer skill is crucial—games between humans are more often won by the fastest thumb than the fastest brain. This advantage is only magnified when one of the “thumbs” is an electromagnetic solenoid trigged by a microsecond-precise jolt of current. I knew it would take some lucky breaks to keep up with the computer, since it couldn’t be beaten on speed.”

Having been soundly beaten by the machine Jennings remarked, with tongue partly in cheek, how he and Rutter are the first knowledge sector professionals to be put out of a job by a machine.

As people who rely on computers for our job we are not quite sure how to feel about this.

Is Watson the crown jewel of human engineering or is the program a dangerous foray into technology? Benign at first but a stepping stone to someplace darker? Reminiscent of how fusion lead to the atom bomb? Or is that just another bad Hollywood plot?