I'm just cracking wise. Watson is a very impressive project. Nonetheless, throw four to seven Google researchers and engineers at this project and you'd achieve comparable results. They've been cornering the market in this area.
But instant button pressing is not terribly impressive and yet is Watson's critical advantage. This match is framed as a battle of knowledge, not a struggle for humans to overcome the massive disadvantage of their meat-based nervous system, which it is.
This is largely glossed over. Watson would lose horribly if one of its engineers was pressing the button. If its electronic advantage on the button was taken away, it would be the kind of fascinating match I and a lot of people were expecting.
Yes, watson can play Jeopardy. Jennings and Rutter can also do every other thing that a human being can do. The meat based system is still, on the measure, much more impressive.
But instant button pressing is not terribly impressive and yet is Watson's critical advantage. This match is framed as a battle of knowledge, not a struggle for humans to overcome the massive disadvantage of their meat-based nervous system, which it is.
This is largely glossed over. Watson would lose horribly if one of its engineers was pressing the button. If its electronic advantage on the button was taken away, it would be the kind of fascinating match I and a lot of people were expecting.