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Destructionator XIII wrote:It's not really my area of expertise.

With that in mind though, I'm not really impressed. In my experience, the best search engine results are a literal match of what I wrote - the computer shouldn't try to understand, it should just search. The internet is so big now that the odds are good that someone else has already asked my exact question, so I can get human results from a stupid computer with a big enough database.

Watson is interesting from a theory perspective, but from a practical standpoint, I don't think it will make a difference.


The best thing about the computer is what it got wrong... if it knew the definition of words like "decade", a dead stupid algorithm would have gotten one of its wrong answers correct. The hard part has got to be category definitions. (Hell, I used to never understand Before & After on Wheel of Fortune. Made it impossible. Now that I get what it's asking for though, they are pretty easy.)

Singular Intellect wrote:Of course Watson is faster at reading the questions and likely more precise with buzzing in (it should be noted Watson does have a physical buzzer it must activate just like the players).

Don't see that as relevant though. Last time I checked, reading speed and thumb muscles weren't investigated prior to putting a contestant on the show.

First, a quick rundown of how Watson plays Jeopardy. The computer is fed the answer in text form at the same time the answer panel appears to the two human players. Watson then queries its database for an appropriate question response, a process that doesn't involve using the Internet at all. Welty noted that game shows are federally regulated and there were two auditors present while the episode was filmed to make sure the computer wasn't querying the Internet for answers.

Watson then must push a physical buzzer to answer questions, just like its human competitors. While this would seem to be a task at which computers would have an overwhelming advantage, Welty noted that Rutter was so well-known for his lightning fast buzzing that the producers weren't even mildly concerned.

When the match began, the computer got off to a strong start: it took control of the board away from Rutter on the second turn, immediately nailed a Daily Double square, bet $1,000, and got the question right. But later, on a Name That Decade question, Jennings answered incorrectly with "what is the 1920s?" Watson, which can't see or hear and so can't pick up on the follies of its competitors, followed Jennings' answer with its own: "What is the 1920s?"

"No, Ken said that," Alex Trebek replied as the avatar's sphere turned orange with embarrassment.

During a commercial after Watson's decade gaffe, Welty noted that the team thought the ability to process other players' wrong answers would be unnecessary. "We just didn't think it would ever happen," Welty said, laughing.

Thanas wrote:

Singular Intellect wrote:Of course Watson is faster at reading the questions and likely more precise with buzzing in (it should be noted Watson does have a physical buzzer it must activate just like the players).

Don't see that as relevant though. Last time I checked, reading speed and thumb muscles weren't investigated prior to putting a contestant on the show.

Actually, that is an unfair edge. If they wanted it to be fair, they would look at the response time of the best other contestants and then enforce a randomly selected buzz time on part of the computer.

Singular Intellect wrote:How's that fair? No other contestant is ever handicapped regarding their speed for using the buzzer. Watson had to use a physical buzzer like both others, and wouldn't buzz in until it had confidence in an answer it came up with.

Thanas wrote:

Singular Intellect wrote:How's that fair? No other contestant is ever handicapped regarding their speed for using the buzzer. Watson had to use a physical buzzer like both others, and wouldn't buzz in until it had confidence in an answer it came up with.

Because its physical capacities make comparing the mental capacities useless.

Thanas wrote:If Watson would not be much faster than a Human, you might have one too.

Thanas wrote:It won because of its speed. Are you denying that?

Destructionator XIII wrote:If anyone else is watching the game now, you can see what I'm talking about with the speed and Ken's face. Over and over again, he shakes his head while frantically pressing the button, but the computer has already buzzed in.

Brad has a better poker face, but I'm sure he's in exactly the same situation.

They both beat the computer's timing a couple times, but, by far, the computer is winning because of its speed. As to knowing the answers, they are at least equal.

AHGAHAHAHAHAAHA Final Jeopardy is what I like to see! The stupid fucking computer didn't have even the first clue; it's answer was completely unreasonable. No human would have even guessed that.

But why the fuck is this even played for money? That'd make me feel even more cheated if I was playing. Maybe they needed some incentive for the champs to come back.

Destructionator XIII wrote: I'm not commenting on fairness.

Watson still kicked their asses in the end.

The game's only half over!

"...that computer beat the two world champions. If it's stupid, what does that make our champions?"

It's a bullshit metric to say anything about smartness for the main game. Precise timing is the deciding factor.

Yeah, it's an advertising gimmick so we shouldn't expect good science, but it's very important that people realize this to get a realistic appraisal of the machine. It doesn't win because it is smarter. It wins because its reaction time is faster - nothing special in a machine.

Though, the fact that it has a fighting chance at all is moderately impressive. It playing the game is pretty cool. It winning is pretty mundane.

Singular Intellect wrote:

Though, the fact that it has a fighting chance at all is moderately impressive. It playing the game is pretty cool. It winning is pretty mundane.

Only if, as you seemingly do, subscribe to the notion Watson's reaction speed is of any interest in the scenario whatsoever.

Sriad wrote:Reaction speed being important is an absolute mathematical fact.

As Jeopardy devotees know, if you're trying to win on the show, the buzzer is all. On any given night, nearly all the contestants know nearly all the answers, so it's just a matter of who masters buzzer rhythm the best.

Watson does have a big advantage in this regard, since it can knock out a microsecond-precise buzz every single time with little or no variation. Human reflexes can't compete with computer circuits in this regard. But I wouldn't call this unfair...precise timing just happens to be one thing computers are better at than we humans. It's not like I think Watson should try buzzing in more erratically just to give homo sapiens a chance.