Is Skynet possible? Could there be the existence of a computer smarter than its human creator? Well, Jeopardy! and IBM teamed up to see if a computer could compete with its greatest champions of all time.
Over the past several months, IBM researchers have created a vast computer that they lovingly named "Watson." Over several months of testing the machine in Jeopardy! style games, the machine was also tweaked as to work out as many bugs as possible.
But starting tonight, Watson will make his national television debut on Jeopardy! and take on Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter. We all know Jennings as the man who holds the 74-game win streak on the show and seemed almost unbeatable. He took home more that $2 million. Brad Rutter played in the days when the show limited contestants to a give-game win streak. He later played in multiple Jeopardy! tournaments and actually beat Jennings in the Ultimate Tournament of Champions.
It is important to note that Watson is not connected to the Internet. He does not have an unlimited knowledge base to pull every answer from. Watson is designed to include as much information as possible and can use his own knowledge in the competition, just as every Jeopardy! contestant can.
It will be a three-part series that begins Monday. Let's see how this goes. It'll either be an exciting match or the end of human society as we know it.
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