Computing

IBM Jeopardy Challenge Finale: Live Commentary

Tonight is the final battle between IBM’s Jeopardy-playing Watson computer and humanity’s two greatest quiz show gladiators. And because I just moved to a state that buries epic man vs. machine battles at 4:30 CST, I’m going to liveblog it early for you all. Spoilers, and the possible end of mankind as we know it, ahead.


Computing

Watson Crashed Multiple Times On Jeopardy

If you saw the second night of Jeopardy’s Watson vs Man and Watson’s flat out dominance, I wouldn’t blame you for being a little bit sad about humanity. Thankfully it’s not straight to SkyNet for Watson, turns out the machine is a little unreliable and prone to crashes.


Computing

A Jeopardy! Board That Would Bring Watson To Its Knees

Man, that Watson supercomputer must be feeling pretty good about itself after last night’s rout of humanity’s finest. But at least when we’re in our robot-proof bunkers, huddled over our last can of cold beans, we’ll be able to take comfort in our human ability to decide which kitteh is cutest. [Hijinx Ensue via The High Definite]


February 16, 2011
Computing

IBM Jeopardy Challenge, Night 2: Watson Runs Wild

If you happened to miss out on the first half of Round 1 last night, shame on you. You can catch up here.


February 15, 2011
Computing

IBM Jeopardy Challenge, Night 1: Watson Ties For The Lead

After practice rounds and plenty of hype, Watson, IBM’s latest supercomputer, stepped up to the podium to take on two of Jeopardy’s greatest champions: Ken Jennings, who won 74 straight rounds of Jeopardy en route to becoming a pop culture icon, and Brad Rutter, who netted more money than any other contestant while winning the three of the biggest Jeopardy tournaments (defeating Ken Jennings in the process).


June 28, 2010

What Is Last Week’s "Alex Meets Auto-Tune" Jeopardy Category?

newVideoPlayer( {"type":"video","player":"http://www.youtube.com/v/Te4E1cx2J44&hl=en&fs=1&fmt=22","customParams":[] ,"width":500,"height":412,"ratio":0.824,"flashData":"","embedName":null,"objectId":null,"noEmbed":false,"source":"youtube","wrap":true} ); Presumably in an effort to engage a younger audience, the producers of a popular TV quiz show had their respectable, gray-haired host sing clues with the help of a popular pitch-correcting software used by artists like T-Pain and Kanye West.


June 17, 2010
Computing

The Magic Of Watson, IBM’s Question-Answering Supercomputer

A computer that can have a conversation with you in real, human language is a hallmark of science fiction films, but has always seemed ludicrously unrealistic. Here’s the thing: IBM just built one.


April 27, 2009
Computing

IBM Prepping Soul-Crushing ‘Watson’ Computer to Compete on Jeopardy!

IBM, not content to merely crush the spirits of chess masters like Garry Kasparov, have started working with Jeopardy! to create a supercomputer that will undoubtedly answer questions more accurately than Sean Connery.


February 8, 2009
Entertainment

Alex Trebek Explains Jeopardy!’s Tech: ‘I Look Better in High-Def’

Trebek, he of the condescending interviews and phantom mustache, recently talked to Wired about the surprisingly myriad changes his program has made over the years to adapt to new technology. Spoiler: the internet is important.