Jeopardy

Technology has been growing every day. Relating to my other class, I just watched 2001: A Space Odyssey, and saw the significance of HAL, the intelligent computer. Also, relating this topic of computer intelligence to Digital Arts class.  I recently had to respond to the article: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/13/business/13sing.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all, which talks about Singularity University and how some form of superior intelligence will take over the world.  Is this superior intelligence the computer? Can the computer outsmart humans?


Well, after reading the article Computer Wines on 'Jeopardy!':Trivial, It's Not, I believe it is more than possible for computers to outsmart humans.  Ken Jennings was famous for winning 74 games in a row on Jeopardy.  However, he has just recently lost to an I.B.M. computer named Watson, after the founder of I.B.M., Thomas J. Watson.  One of the smartest human beings lost $1 million on Jeopardy to a computer programed to answer questions.  


Something I found to be interesting in this article was that the computer knew when it was confident or not.  At one point in the show, Watson answered a question with several question marks at the end, posing a sense of unfamiliarity.  Watson was able to respond to questions faster when it was confident it knew the correct answer.  


Overall, this is a massive advancement in technology that can shape our future.  A question answering machine was able to beat a human.  Even though the computer won the game, it still had a few imperfections during its performance.  Also, relating to the article about Singularity University, it is important to realize that today, technology is going to have a significant impact in our lives, and especially the medical field.  Would you trust a robot performing surgery on you?


A glimpse into the future shows computers are going to be outwitting humans.  Are they going to completely replace humans altogether?  Or can they?  


The incident on Jeopardy shows that I.B.M. researchers are trying to perfect the capabilities of Watson and future computers.  Science is transforming the world. Soon, computers will be able to complete more functions in society.  I.B.M. plans to create a physician's assistant service that will allow doctors to question a computer assistant.  This project may be completed in less than 2 years.  It is incredible how people can build a computer to work in a way that outsmarts humans.