Jeopardy

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Ken Jennings Wants To Occupy Jeopardy

8:13AM October 27, 2011 | Mario Aguilar

Once he was the insurmountable apogee of Jeopardy excellence. Then IBM devised a machine that defeated him. Today Ken Jennings posted a photo blasting IBM. The dethroned champ is casting his lot with the OWS crowd in protest of Watson. More »


Computing

Donate To The Charity That Watson Denied Money From

6:34AM March 9, 2011 | Jason Chen

Watson’s defeat of man struck a hard blow against our hope of dominating computers in trivia party games ever again, but do you know who was hurt worse? The charity that Ken Jennings was playing for. Instead of taking home $US1 million, Ken Jennings won $US300,000 (and gave half of that to charity). More »


Geek Out

Ken Jennings’ Watson Beatdown Fantasy

3:00PM March 3, 2011 | Sam Biddle

From this inscription, penned by Ken Jennings in his modestly-titled book, “Brainiac,” you might think he has some pent-up rage toward the computer mind that so effortlessly dominated him. But, no, it was just a request from a fan. [Reddit] More »


Geek Out

Can Watson Answer Jeopardy Questions Like This?

2:10PM February 26, 2011 | Jason Chen

Until Watson can pull out answers as good as Teen Jeopardy contestants, I want no part of this new robotic trivia movement. [Gawker TV]


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Garry Kasparov: Watson Is A Kid’s Toy

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12:46PM February 24, 2011 | Daniel Long

World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov knows a thing or two about defending his pride against game playing computers. He also wants to throw his chess board at Watson – that Jeopardy playing robot that nobody likes to invite to parties. More »


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Alex Trebek And Watson Tear Up Las Vegas

8:30AM February 20, 2011 | Jack Loftus

Poor Watson. He just wanted to play some Blackjack and that mean old dealer wouldn’t let him. If not for a cool-headed Trebek, we’d be looking at thermonuclear war. A defused punchline awaits… [Joy of Tech] More »


Computing

Could Watson Have Been Defeated By Homebrew?

8:20AM February 19, 2011 | Stephen Baker

Well before Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter, IBM’s design team grappled with a different challenge – getting beaten to the punch by someone else inventing a trivia-savvy artificial mind. Final Jeopardy discusses Watson’s early development and how this Q&A juggernaut overcame the “Basement Baseline.” More »


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The Human Victory

5:46AM February 19, 2011 | Brian Christian

So Watson just pwned humanity, setting a milestone in the history of artificial intelligence. But this trouncing gives us – as we lick our wounds, cry foul or demand a rematch – the opportunity to ask afresh what it means to be human. More »


Computing

Ken Jennings Was The Bad Guy On Watson’s Home Turf

5:20AM February 18, 2011 | Sam Biddle

You’d expect the trembling masses of humanity, terrified by the superior digital intellect of Watson, to have some solidarity. Not so, says formerly impressive Jeopardy player Ken Jennings. At IBM’s Watson research lab, where the robo-tourney taped, man was the enemy. [Slate]


Computing

IBM Jeopardy Challenge Finale: Watson Is Victorious

6:00PM February 17, 2011 | Adrian Covert

If you missed the first round, shame on you. Catch up on the action here and here. More »