MarketWatch With John C. Dvorak - 11.2.18
© 2010 John C. Dvorak's Cage Match
From Dow Jones

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Pure algorithmic search is the holy grail.

If we learned one thing by watching the Watson computer challenge real humans on the “Jeopardy!” game show, it’s that International Business Machines Corp. has developed a new kind of search engine.

That’s what this is all about, a search engine, probably called Watson that will obviously take straight English queries and deliver answers. This has been the promise of numerous search engines, beginning with Ask Jeeves. That idea is still being explored by Ask.com, owned by IAC/InterActive Corp.

This Watson device should go online immediately — assuming it actually works and is scalable.

Continue reading the full article here.

Kudo's.  And what a marketing coup to have it advertised/promoted on Jeopardy.  Genius!!

Amusingly, I sat there like a dolt not drawing any dots at all.  I was trapped in the "Big Blue" model thinking/not thinking it was just about a "single purpose game machine" but your one step connection is obvious upon its utterance.  I read something about the millions of dollars spent and the team of AI experts that worked on it.  It did cross my mind it was "overkill" for a game.

Yes, follow the money.  Too late to invest I suppose?

Well done.

PS--Years ago I thought it wouldn't be that hard to create an electronic friend that could give open ended responses to someone who just wanted to talk.  The algorhythms for a simple response is VERY easy--the problem being few would be drawn into the friendship for the long term, but maybe the feeble would be?  Watson though is a whole new meme.  Avatars.  Speech.  It wouldn't even have to pass the Turing test to keep people actively engaged.

The mind boggles.  Porn chat at 75 cents a minute?

Too late to invest?

Where did my post go?  Second version:  not as good as the first?

News that Watson will be used to compete with docs for diagnosing illnesses.  Very high brow application, but porn would make so much more money==as would providing cyber friends for shut-ins. 

In fact, imagine this:  the entire DU Blogsite is just Watson with 50 different sorted personalities responding to each contributor in a way to hook him into the website. 

Yes, Watson: the precursor of Skynet.  Its all forewarned:  "Alex, I'll take End of the Human Race for $1000:  Who is Watson?"---ain't called Jeopardy for nothing.

 For regular viewers of Jeopardy, this two show gimic was a real turn off! I watched it right through, but my wife lost interest very quickly and left! [we frequently watch Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy during our supper in our TV den]
As a medical research tool, yes it shows much promise for especially General Practitioners to quickly summon recently published trials and testing results from a vast array of sources. But as an entertainment vehicle, it was less than a hit!

And for it to have selected Toronto, Canada  as an American city where Chicago was the correct answer........some further refinements to the algorhythms are in order. Toronto's  main airport is Pearson Internat. not O'Hare and the alternate airports are Downsview or Buttonville not Midway. That was a big fail, please do not pay out the 1 million dollars!

Obtuser--every human has a brain fart, and Watson has his Toronto moment.  Did strike me as "so very odd" as the question was one that was perfect for the cross matching technique Watson is supposed to use.  That method should get one down to "no found answer" at worst==not one that was clearly wrong.

but still, what is the evaluation of such a mistake when Watson evidently will easily win every round it enters?  Where would you place your bets?

Same with medicine.  Do you go with the statistical winner even when said winner is occasionally rediculously wrong, or stick with the dullards who are too muddled to rarely be clearly right or wrong?

AI is coming and like with so many other digital products the effects will surprise us.  Maybe a firewall/gap in tech will prevent SkyNet but its easy to imagine many very destructive "mistakes" well below skynet.  How about crashing the electrical grid for some glitch in the long term benefit of distributing power more efficiently for the grid?

Yes, AI is coming.  BTW--why the hating on Watson.  What's the appeal of watching human contestants rather than anything else?  I guess being empathetic is a good thing, or is it just being a speciesist? 

Yes, AI is coming.

 Several responses come to mind.
- some people resist change to varying degrees!
- the whole speed of the program was changed, as the two male contestants noted, the computer "Watson" was extremely hard to beat on the triggering device
- I have my suspicions regards that "Toronto" answer. Was that a ringer? Did someone in the back room over ride Watson?
- the whole game of man against machine in this context is an unfair match up.
- at my age I should worry about AI? Naw, statistically I will be dead shortly and won't care!
- the only true justification for that massive outlay of research dollars is can it save lives, or improve state of living more quickly at less cost in the long run? I think the answer is a resounding YES, but the jury is still out.
- and yes I have a pain where I can't scratch it, so everybody else should be hurting , too!