IBM's Watson on Jeopardy.

[shadowplay]

I thoroughly enjoyed my elderly mother trying to figure out what was going on.

 

[warpus]

I thoroughly enjoyed my elderly mother trying to figure out what was going on.

That's not very nice of you, insulting the OP like that!

 

[cubsfan6506]

He's right about everything though. Jeopardy hardly has an impressive format for any sort of real quizbowl competition. And half of the thread was/remains wrong on their facts about the Watson computer too.

Jeopardy isn't supposed to be quizbowl though, it's supposed to be Jeopardy. Simply because it requires anticipating when questions end, doesn't make it bad.

BTW the above is what makes Watson so impressive, he can accurately pick up on clues as to when the question is going to end.

 

[Japanrocks12]

There is don't let that get in the way of Japanrocks getting high and mighty though.

What am I getting high and mighty about? If you want to enjoy trivia questions, just head down to your local bar. Go there if you want to win some cash, too. A non-rigorous flawed format such as Jeopardy! coupled with a machine that is pretty much programmed to buzz before you has ruined any of the fun that quizzing ever had.

If you're really serious about testing your academic knowledge, and I will be nothing but happy if you are, then look into joining quizbowl. The reason that I am so anti-Jeopardy! is that it couples the temptations of big bucks with its airs of pretentiousness about crowning the smartest person of some subset of the population, be it Teens, adults, or Celebrities. That the actual game in Jeopardy! is so divorced from what it pretends to be is not my fault; the judges on Jeopardy! that Valka pointed out often make haphazard and incorrect rulings.

So to summarize:

- A ton of money is at stake, and will go to whoever's reflexes are faster that particular day between two contestants with even knowledge
- You are penalized for having been given a clue that you knew but nobody else knows if that clue is in the middle of the question
- Trebek treats you like a kid
- The question-making process is done behind the scenes by a crew in a room filled with smoke, is completely untransparent, and results in questions that insult your intelligence
- the auditioning process is not meant to select someone who is actual better at trivia questions than other people (you can ask me to elaborate this if you want)

 

[NickyJ]

Well, it's not hooked up to the internet, for one...

That doesn't make any difference. It stores all the information on the hard drive. Consider it a Google search engine, with all the results stored on the hard drive.

A non-rigorous flawed format such as Jeopardy! coupled with a machine that is pretty much programmed to buzz before you has ruined any of the fun that quizzing ever had.

I can't help myself: Exactly!

- A ton of money is at stake, and will go to whoever's reflexes are faster that particular day between two contestants with even knowledge

Again correct. Also, when Jennings still had his streak going, I could have sworn that Jennings's buzzer was rigged to be delayed so that he would lose.

- Trebek treats you like a kid

That's one of the trademarks of the show.

 

[ParkCungHee]

Google can recognize language. It can interpret language to.

http://www.google.com/search?client...ize+language&sourceid=opera&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8
No it can't. Google understands boolean operators.

 

[GamezRule]

Google doesn't operate off of language, it operates off of individual words.

http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=pink+flying+unicorns
http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=unicorns+flying+pink

 

[NickyJ]

http://www.google.com/search?client...ize+language&sourceid=opera&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8
No it can't. Google understands boolean operators.

There is a bit of a misunderstanding here, and I don't know whose side it's on, so I'll ask this question: What is the definition of "language" in this case? I thought he meant language as in English, Spanish, etc.

 

[sophie]

Again correct. Also, when Jennings still had his streak going, I could have sworn that Jennings's buzzer was rigged to be delayed so that he would lose.

Having seen reruns of that game a few times, I'm pretty sure he threw the game.

 

[ParkCungHee]

There is a bit of a misunderstanding here, and I don't know whose side it's on, so I'll ask this question: What is the definition of "language" in this case? I thought he meant language as in English, Spanish, etc.

http://www.google.com/search?client...tand+English&sourceid=opera&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8
Google doesn't understand English.

 

[JollyRoger]

http://www.google.com/search?client...tand+English&sourceid=opera&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8
Google doesn't understand English.

Then Google needs to GIT OUT of the USA.

 

[Disgustipated]

by proof, I mean having an independent team look at this thing. But we all know IBM would never let anyone look at their technology.

It's a moot point anyways, because Watson didn't actually win. It was rigged. First of all someone above said Watson can anticipate when the question ends. I call B.S. on that one. We all know it doesn't have voice recognition, it's being sent the questions via text. It answers (with a question) when it gets sent the answer which is probably at the end of Trebek's answer. Or it gets sent the question before Trebek is finished speaking (which would be unfair to the contestants). The mere fact it doesn't have to decipher Trebek's crazy Canadian accent (I'm being sarcastic here) when the other contestants do have to decipher his speech is an unfair advantage.

The reason why watson didn't actually win was because the thing crashed several times. That's giving an unfair advantage to Watson. If a regular contestant had a brain dump during the show, you wouldn't see them halt the show for that person, and make sure that person was 100% mentally before proceeding.

 

[cubsfan6506]

What am I getting high and mighty about? If you want to enjoy trivia questions, just head down to your local bar. Go there if you want to win some cash, too. A non-rigorous flawed format such as Jeopardy! coupled with a machine that is pretty much programmed to buzz before you has ruined any of the fun that quizzing ever had.

If you're really serious about testing your academic knowledge, and I will be nothing but happy if you are, then look into joining quizbowl. The reason that I am so anti-Jeopardy! is that it couples the temptations of big bucks with its airs of pretentiousness about crowning the smartest person of some subset of the population, be it Teens, adults, or Celebrities. That the actual game in Jeopardy! is so divorced from what it pretends to be is not my fault; the judges on Jeopardy! that Valka pointed out often make haphazard and incorrect rulings.

So to summarize:

- A ton of money is at stake, and will go to whoever's reflexes are faster that particular day between two contestants with even knowledge
- You are penalized for having been given a clue that you knew but nobody else knows if that clue is in the middle of the question
- Trebek treats you like a kid
- The question-making process is done behind the scenes by a crew in a room filled with smoke, is completely untransparent, and results in questions that insult your intelligence
- the auditioning process is not meant to select someone who is actual better at trivia questions than other people (you can ask me to elaborate this if you want)

I did play quizbowl and it wouldn't be very entertaining in a television format.

- If the first point is so, then how did Ken Jennings win 70 matches in a row?
-I'm perfectly aware that it's not whoever is better at trivia and I half suspect that they pick people that are bad on purpose, however that doesn't make it bad.

Although probably not an ideal test of question skill, it's still entertaining to watch.

 

[Ayatollah So]

I'd like to see evidence Watson truly understands the context of what's being said, rather than just having a good search engine and large database.

You know, when the Aztecs were getting slaughtered by Spaniards, I bet their mightiest warriors said something like

I'd like to see evidence Spaniards are truly capable of fighting like men, rather than just having a good projectile weapon and tough armor.

But you know what? Those Aztec warriors are still dead, no matter how much of a cheap trick the contest was. And when we're out of a job, you might take comfort in the fact that your computer replacement doesn't "truly understand" engineering or film production or business or whatever it is that you do - but I won't.

First of all someone above said Watson can anticipate when the question ends. I call B.S. on that one. We all know it doesn't have voice recognition, it's being sent the questions via text. It answers (with a question) when it gets sent the answer which is probably at the end of Trebek's answer.

That's a good point. Since the players' buzzers are automatically locked out for a brief period if they buzz too early, this implies that Trebek is holding a switch, or some such thing, which enables the lock-out function. Watson probably receives the signal generated by Trebek's release of that switch, or else, receives the prompt in text at that moment, like you say.

Edit: I clicked on the link where someone said Watson crashed several times during the show. It didn't - it was the interface between Watson and the Jeopardy computer, which crashed.

 

[NickyJ]

http://www.google.com/search?client...tand+English&sourceid=opera&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8
Google doesn't understand English.

If you were to send Watson that message, Watson wouldn't be able to reply either. At best, it would either say "What is Toronto?" or "What is Car Talk?".

by proof, I mean having an independent team look at this thing. But we all know IBM would never let anyone look at their technology.

It's a moot point anyways, because Watson didn't actually win. It was rigged. First of all someone above said Watson can anticipate when the question ends. I call B.S. on that one. We all know it doesn't have voice recognition, it's being sent the questions via text. It answers (with a question) when it gets sent the answer which is probably at the end of Trebek's answer. Or it gets sent the question before Trebek is finished speaking (which would be unfair to the contestants). The mere fact it doesn't have to decipher Trebek's crazy Canadian accent (I'm being sarcastic here) when the other contestants do have to decipher his speech is an unfair advantage.

IBM had this planned out. They knew he would win. If he actually stood a chance of losing, they would never dare to let the film see the light of day.

You know, when the Aztecs were getting slaughtered by Spaniards, I bet their mightiest warriors said something like

But you know what? Those Aztec warriors are still dead, no matter how much of a cheap trick the contest was. And when we're out of a job, you might take comfort in the fact that your computer replacement doesn't "truly understand" engineering or film production or business or whatever it is that you do - but I won't.

Umm, answering trivia questions is a tad bit different from being conquered by Spaniards. Just a tad... Plus, Spaniards are humans. A computer is a bit different from a human.

 

[ParkCungHee]

If you were to send Watson that message, Watson wouldn't be able to reply either. At best, it would either say "What is Toronto?" or "What is Car Talk?".

No, if that was the case, it wouldn't be able to compete in Jeopardy, much less against the champion.
Which seems to go against you idea that IBM knew it would win.

 

[NickyJ]

No, if that was the case, it wouldn't be able to compete in Jeopardy, much less against the champion.
Which seems to go against you idea that IBM knew it would win.

All it does is spew out results from its search. The rest is just regular programming like in any other supercomputer.

 

[ParkCungHee]

All it does is spew out results from its search. The rest is just regular programming like in any other supercomputer.

Well that's easily and demonstratably wrong, not just by looking at the programming but by testing if his answers line up with a google search.
For example when given:
"Before this hotel mogul's elbow broke through it, a Picasso he owned was worth $139 million; after, $85 million"
It answered "Steven Wynn." Google answered "Wynn Vs. Lloyd's of London Over Damaged Picasso."
When given:
"This town is known as "Sin City" & its downtown is "Glitter Gulch""
It answered "Las Vegas" Google answered "The Nugget and the Rest of Benny's Corner - Downtown Glitter Gulch"

 

[NickyJ]

Well that's easily and demonstratably wrong, not just by looking at the programming but by testing if his answers line up with a google search.
For example when given:
"Before this hotel mogul's elbow broke through it, a Picasso he owned was worth $139 million; after, $85 million"
It answered "Steven Wynn." Google answered "Wynn Vs. Lloyd's of London Over Damaged Picasso."
When given:
"This town is known as "Sin City" & its downtown is "Glitter Gulch""
It answered "Las Vegas" Google answered "The Nugget and the Rest of Benny's Corner - Downtown Glitter Gulch"

Still, if you ask Watson "Can you speak English?", it wouldn't be able to reply. It would only be able to say something along the lines of, "What is Henry the Eighth?"

 

[ParkCungHee]

Still, if you ask Watson "Can you speak English?", it wouldn't be able to reply. It would only be able to say something along the lines of, "What is Henry the Eighth?"

It would probably, if anything not answer the question because it doesn't have knowledge. It still understands the actual structure of the question.