Network Computing is part of the Informa Tech Division of Informa PLC

This site is operated by a business or businesses owned by Informa PLC and all copyright resides with them. Informa PLC's registered office is 5 Howick Place, London SW1P 1WG. Registered in England and Wales. Number 8860726.

  1. Home
  2. Data-centers
  3. Ibms-watson-watershed-event-information-technology-and-society
  4. Page
  5. IBM's Watson: A Watershed Event For Information Technology--And For Society: Page 5 of 5
Data Centers

IBM's Watson: A Watershed Event For Information Technology--And For Society: Page 5 of 5

On the surface, Watson, IBM's "Jeopardy"-playing computer system, is impressive in its ability to answer complex, ambiguous questions expressed in natural language. In fact, Watson will likely be a centerpiece for IBM's centennial celebration in June. But Watson is more than just an impressive computing system. In fact, in the future, after Watson's technology is used and deployed in multiple ways, we expect this week's Jeopardy matches will be seen as a historic event in information technology
DAVID HILL
February 17, 2011

Watson has created new options and opportunities in a very important area. The "Jeopardy" organization--and that extends to the contestants--should be commended for providing a fair and challenging platform for natural language computing. IBM, from the top down, should be commended for investing in Watson. Few if any other IT vendors would be willing to invest in something that might not work and, even if it did work, would not likely have a measurable short-term ROI. In Watson, IBM has a centerpiece for its centennial and a memorably innovative start for its second century.

IBM is a client of David Hill and the Mesabi Group.

Tags:

Commentary
Data Centers
Networking