GO WATSON! AI SHOULD RULE THE WORLD!

I'm not 100% on the rules; are they free to press their button before the "answer" is finished being read? Like, someone offstage presses a button to allow answering once the announcer finishes reading? I say this because it appears that Ken is trying to buzz in exactly when the announcer finishes (though I suppose its more likely he just wants to make sure he's getting the whole clue).

Also is Watson listening AND getting a video stream of the clues? (edit; news articles appear to indicate Watson only listens)

>> ^bamdrew:

I'm not 100% on the rules; are they free to press their button before the "answer" is finished being read? Like, someone offstage presses a button to allow answering once the announcer finishes reading? I say this because it appears that Ken is trying to buzz in exactly when the announcer finishes (though I suppose its more likely he just wants to make sure he's getting the whole clue).
Also is Watson listening AND getting a video stream of the clues? (edit; news articles appear to indicate Watson only listens)


I have seen players use the buzzer before Alex Trebek finishes, but that was many years ago. I don't know if that rule was changed.

You can only buzz in after the answer is read.

>> ^Zyrxil:

You can only buzz in after the answer is read.


Didn't they used to in the past? What happens if you did it early?

>> ^ant:

>> ^Zyrxil:
You can only buzz in after the answer is read.

Didn't they used to in the past? What happens if you did it early?


I think there might be a delay before you can buzz again. So it is disadvantageous to buzz early.

I for one welcome our new...ah fuck it.

>> ^quantumushroom:

I for one welcome our new...ah fuck it.


...trivia-spewing, voice-recognizing, prove-Ken-Jennings-just-has-good-recall, computer overlords?

>> ^quantumushroom:

I for one welcome our new...ah fuck it.


There's a group called "ah fuck it"?

This day was inevitable.

From the latter half of the video it seems Watson will only buzz in if the probability of a correct answer is very high (green). If they set the cut-off lower, say 60%, it would have buzzed in much more often.

By the title of the video, I assumed that "destroy" meant the humans would have 0 points... It would have been much more intimidating if they had a "Cyberdyne Systems Model 101" standing between the 2 humans instead of a screensaver.

>> ^spawnflagger:

From the latter half of the video it seems Watson will only buzz in if the probability of a correct answer is very high (green). If they set the cut-off lower, say 60%, it would have buzzed in much more often.

By the title of the video, I assumed that "destroy" meant the humans would have 0 points... It would have been much more intimidating if they had a "Cyberdyne Systems Model 101" standing between the 2 humans instead of a screensaver.


KILL KILL KILL!

>> ^bmacs27:

>> ^ant:
>> ^Zyrxil:
You can only buzz in after the answer is read.

Didn't they used to in the past? What happens if you did it early?

I think there might be a delay before you can buzz again. So it is disadvantageous to buzz early.


That's true, but the delay is only 1/4th of a second. So those contestants you see just furiously spamming the buzzer aren't stupid, it's still a valid strategy. At least you're almost guaranteed to get a buzz in within the first quarter second.

I think this is why the squishy humans have any chance to answer. It's got to be difficult for an AI to precisely judge when a question is over. I wouldn't be surprised if Watson uses the buzzer spam method.

Oh, it seems Watson now has an actual buzzer that he has to hit with his robo digit. I'd say giving that thing a finger is a fatal step in the wrong direction.

>> ^entr0py:

>> ^bmacs27:

>> ^ant:

>> ^Zyrxil:

You can only buzz in after the answer is read.


Didn't they used to in the past? What happens if you did it early?


I think there might be a delay before you can buzz again. So it is disadvantageous to buzz early.


That's true, but the delay is only 1/4th of a second. So those contestants you see just furiously spamming the buzzer aren't stupid, it's still a valid strategy. At least you're almost guaranteed to get a buzz in within the first quarter second.

I think this is why the squishy humans have any chance to answer. It's got to be difficult for an AI to precisely judge when a question is over. I wouldn't be surprised if Watson uses the buzzer spam method.


I like to spam.

>> ^ant:

>> ^quantumushroom:
I for one welcome our new...ah fuck it.

There's a group called "ah fuck it"?


You have another explanation for the popularity of Sarah Palin?

>> ^Payback:

>> ^ant:
>> ^quantumushroom:
I for one welcome our new...ah fuck it.

There's a group called "ah fuck it"?

You have another explanation for the popularity of Sarah Palin?


Yeah, because she's hot? j/k!

Actually, this story has been going around that the computer won. Which is WRONG! If you get the rest of the story, you'll know that the computer ends up getting stomped by Jennings by the end of the segment.

>> ^Chaucer:

Actually, this story has been going around that the computer won. Which is WRONG! If you get the rest of the story, you'll know that the computer ends up getting stomped by Jennings by the end of the segment.


URL for the story?

>> ^Chaucer:

Actually, this story has been going around that the computer won. Which is WRONG! If you get the rest of the story, you'll know that the computer ends up getting stomped by Jennings by the end of the segment.


You're probably thinking of a different test. Watson did win the game shown in the video. Though they only played single Jeopardy. http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/13/ibms-watson-supercomputer-destroys-all-humans-in-jeopardy-pract/

Final Score
Watson : $4,400
Ken : $3,400
Brad : $1,200.

Seems to me like Jennings would have won the first round if he didn't lose the buzz, either by buzzing too soon or by the computer beating his timing. I wonder if they program in some variability to Watson's buzzing in, or if it buzzes in the moment it hears Alex stop speaking. Wonder if that would be any advantage at all given that humans can read ahead and know exactly when the question's over. If Watson's only listening it wouldn't have that foresight.. unless it's also running some kind of inflection analysis on the voice recognition.

But is it numberwang?

This was only the first round score. It went on:
http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/01/13/ibm-watson-takes-jeopardy-champs/

"Though Watson ended the exhibition in the lead with $4,400 compared to Jenning’s $3,400 and Rutter’s $1,200, a continuation of that battle shown on internal televisions during lunch revealed that Jenning had pulled ahead after scoring a Daily Double. Watson still isn’t perfect, it seems."

>> ^entr0py:

>> ^Chaucer:
Actually, this story has been going around that the computer won. Which is WRONG! If you get the rest of the story, you'll know that the computer ends up getting stomped by Jennings by the end of the segment.

You're probably thinking of a different test. Watson did win the game shown in the video. Though they only played single Jeopardy. http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/13/ibms-wat
son-supercomputer-destroys-all-humans-in-jeopardy-pract/
Final Score
Watson : $4,400
Ken : $3,400
Brad : $1,200.

>> ^Chaucer:

This was only the first round score. It went on:
http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/01/13/ibm-watson-takes-jeopardy
-champs/
"Though Watson ended the exhibition in the lead with $4,400 compared to Jenning’s $3,400 and Rutter’s $1,200, a continuation of that battle shown on internal televisions during lunch revealed that Jenning had pulled ahead after scoring a Daily Double. Watson still isn’t perfect, it seems."
>> ^entr0py:
>> ^Chaucer:
Actually, this story has been going around that the computer won. Which is WRONG! If you get the rest of the story, you'll know that the computer ends up getting stomped by Jennings by the end of the segment.

You're probably thinking of a different test. Watson did win the game shown in the video. Though they only played single Jeopardy. http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/13/ibms-wat
son-supercomputer-destroys-all-humans-in-jeopardy-pract/
Final Score
Watson : $4,400
Ken : $3,400
Brad : $1,200.



I hope they do more of these with v2, v3, v4, Skynet, etc.