Author Topic: Ken Vs. Brad Vs. Computer (Read 7126 times)

davemackey · « **on:** December 14, 2010, 08:15:50 AM »

Here is the news item about a special three day event that will pit Brad Rutter, Ken Jennings, and a computer in two Jeopardy! games. (Thanks to Don Tandler, The Record Handler for the tip.)

inturnaround · « **Reply #1 on:** December 14, 2010, 11:29:42 AM »

The part of Watson's avatar should be played by Malcolm. I bet Alex misses him.

Jeremy Nelson · « **Reply #2 on:** December 14, 2010, 12:15:14 PM »

Wait...so two games over three days? It's going to be weird seeing a Jeopardy! game straddle. Well, we get another round of Brad V. Ken, so I can't complain.

clemon79 · « **Reply #3 on:** December 14, 2010, 01:34:02 PM »

[quote name=\'inturnaround\' post=\'252496\' date=\'Dec 14 2010, 08:29 AM\']The part of Watson's avatar should be played by Malcolm. I bet Alex misses him.[/quote]
Screw that. I vote for Geoff Petersen.

tpirfan28 · « **Reply #4 on:** December 14, 2010, 02:15:49 PM »

[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'252502\' date=\'Dec 14 2010, 01:34 PM\'][quote name=\'inturnaround\' post=\'252496\' date=\'Dec 14 2010, 08:29 AM\']The part of Watson's avatar should be played by Malcolm. I bet Alex misses him.[/quote]
Screw that. I vote for Geoff Petersen.
[/quote]
I'd rather see Geoff play Watson.

Esoteric Eric · « **Reply #5 on:** December 15, 2010, 09:17:25 AM »

[quote name=\'tpirfan28\' post=\'252506\' date=\'Dec 14 2010, 11:15 AM\'][quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'252502\' date=\'Dec 14 2010, 01:34 PM\'][quote name=\'inturnaround\' post=\'252496\' date=\'Dec 14 2010, 08:29 AM\']The part of Watson's avatar should be played by Malcolm. I bet Alex misses him.[/quote]
Screw that. I vote for Geoff Petersen.
[/quote]I'd rather see Geoff play Watson.[/quote]They were going to use Geoff, but every third response of his was "What is... IN YOUR PANTS!!!"

GiraffeBoy · « **Reply #6 on:** December 15, 2010, 11:45:37 PM »

But how would Watson do against Sean Connery?

--Charlie

/"I'll take ApeTit Dejeuner for 200"

dale_grass · « **Reply #7 on:** December 16, 2010, 08:25:21 AM »

[quote name=\'GiraffeBoy\' post=\'252598\' date=\'Dec 15 2010, 11:45 PM\']But how would Watson do against Sean Connery?

--Charlie

/"I'll take ApeTit Dejeuner for 200"[/quote]
Please. That was was Burt "Turd Ferguson" Reynolds who picked Ape Tit.

\"Well that's the sound your mother made last night."

Bryce L. · « **Reply #8 on:** December 16, 2010, 08:49:19 AM »

All joking aside, guys, the one thing I am scratching my head about concerning Watson is how to ensure that he doesn't ring in 100% instantaneously when Alex turns the signaling devices on. I mean, if Watson is programmed a certain way, he could completely shut out Ken and Brad, simply by never allowing either of them to ring in. I wonder if IBM has taken that into consideration with regards to Watson's schematics...?

Unrealtor · « **Reply #9 on:** December 16, 2010, 02:00:47 PM »

[quote name=\'Bryce L.\' post=\'252614\' date=\'Dec 16 2010, 07:49 AM\']All joking aside, guys, the one thing I am scratching my head about concerning Watson is how to ensure that he doesn't ring in 100% instantaneously when Alex turns the signaling devices on. I mean, if Watson is programmed a certain way, he could completely shut out Ken and Brad, simply by never allowing either of them to ring in. I wonder if IBM has taken that into consideration with regards to Watson's schematics...?[/quote]

My impression from the video somewhere (possibly the New York Times site) that showed a part of one of the test games was that Watson was taking a few seconds to find an answer, long enough for humans to have the clue read aloud and then buzz in.

From what I know of artificial intelligence - a couple college classes on my way to a degree in computer science - converting language to knowledge and back is much more inefficient for a computer than it is for the human brain, because even the best computers are more or less sequential. It's a holy grail of the field, and one that seems to be very hard to get right.

weaklink75 · « **Reply #10 on:** December 23, 2010, 09:32:00 AM »

There's book about this coming out the day after the event airs...

WarioBarker · « **Reply #11 on:** December 23, 2010, 11:59:13 AM »

No, the page says the book is coming out in January. The spoiler-y final chapter, on the other hand, won't be out until after the whole thing ends.

And technically, Watson is being taught to question every answer because that's how Jeopardy! works...but to be fair, every article I've read about Watson has made that error.

EDIT: Confused "book" and "ebook" for a second there. Thanks to Matt below for pointing this out.

Matt Ottinger · « **Reply #12 on:** December 24, 2010, 11:42:21 AM »

[quote name=\'Dan88\' post=\'253158\' date=\'Dec 23 2010, 11:59 AM\']No, the page says the book is coming out in January. The spoiler-y final chapter, on the other hand, won't be out until after the whole thing ends.[/quote]
The page clearly says that the book will be available in February. The eBook, on the other hand, is coming out in advance of the match, and you'll be able to download the final chapter after it's written. So far, 'book' and 'ebook' mean two different things.

Jeremy Nelson · « **Reply #13 on:** January 13, 2011, 12:21:03 PM »

Engadget has the scoop from the practice match HERE. Because it's a live blog, remember to start from the bottom and work your way up. A few quick thoughts:

The whole liveblog is mostly responses from the panel Q and A, but it's pretty entertaining. Engadget says they'll have video posted laster today.

That's a pretty nifty set they've got there, even if it's only being used for the one-time event- it's like a mesh between the current set and the 90s "laser blue" set.

The games are being played at the IBM headquarters, not the Culver City studios- probably makes for an easier "disposal" of Ken and/or Brad, should either of them finish ahead of Watson. Cyberdyne much?

weaklink75 · « **Reply #14 on:** January 13, 2011, 12:41:54 PM »

[quote name=\'Bryce L.\' post=\'252614\' date=\'Dec 16 2010, 08:49 AM\']All joking aside, guys, the one thing I am scratching my head about concerning Watson is how to ensure that he doesn't ring in 100% instantaneously when Alex turns the signaling devices on. I mean, if Watson is programmed a certain way, he could completely shut out Ken and Brad, simply by never allowing either of them to ring in. I wonder if IBM has taken that into consideration with regards to Watson's schematics...?[/quote]

They took note of that in this AP article- they added a function where Watson has to physically press a buzzer to ring in...

[quote name=\'Jeremy Nelson\' post=\'254595\' date=\'Jan 13 2011, 12:21 PM\']Engadget has the scoop from the practice match HERE. Because it's a live blog, remember to start from the bottom and work your way up. A few quick thoughts:

The whole liveblog is mostly responses from the panel Q and A, but it's pretty entertaining. Engadget says they'll have video posted laster today.

That's a pretty nifty set they've got there, even if it's only being used for the one-time event- it's like a mesh between the current set and the 90s "laser blue" set.

The games are being played at the IBM headquarters, not the Culver City studios- probably makes for an easier "disposal" of Ken and/or Brad, should either of them finish ahead of Watson. Cyberdyne much?[/quote]

I think it's because the computer banks that run Watson are so large (the article above said it's the size of 10 refrigerators) that it would be impractical to move them to CA for the event.