I, For One, Do NOT Welcome Our New Computer Overlords
What’s the best way to spend your evening? Watching a ‘humans vs. machine’ competition on Jeopardy! to see who’s smarter. Similarly, West Wing fans also watched the 90210 reboot to see if the plot lines and writing could measure up while having a glass of milk in the hopes that it’ll taste like orange juice. Because those last two things are bound to have results as surprising as the ones on Jeopardy! Shockingly, the IBM super computer called Watson was the victor.
First of all, I haven’t heard of IBM since the 90’s. Does this mean they’ve been in hiding, developing super computers that will make people irrelevant? How can they think human-kind will stand for this? Oh I know, they’ll insert the super computers into antiquated TV programs to try to both invigorate a dying game show AND make the thought of a “super” computer more common and less feared. That way when Watson destroys us all “I, Robot” style we won’t have time to call Will Smith for back up. Grrreat.
For now, Watson has his sights set on beating Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter, two Jeopardy! champs. Even though Watson eventually took his human predecessors down, Jennings still had a sense of humor about it.
“I for one welcome our new computer overlords,” he wrote under his answer to the final question when it was more than apparent he had lost. It’s a reference to an old Simpsons episode where the news anchor welcomes “aliens” as our new overlords. Click here to see it.
There are people out there who were rooting for the super computer to win (much to the chagrin of Battlestar Galactica fans, who all know where this is headed). Nerds Scientists all over the country were giving their support to Watson, particularly the ones at the University of Texas. Texas is one of eight universities that helped developed Watson’s giant info-sucking brain.
On the educational side, Watson has sparked an interest in youth who are now interested in computer science degrees. Guess creating a potentially world-dominating computer will have that effect. Though it’s important to remember that Watson did make a couple mistakes throughout the show, and perhaps we should all file those errors under a “weaknesses to remember” category in the back of our minds. You know…just in case.
I will be looking this up, I am interested in seeing this episode. I heard nothing about it before this article. I share your opinion and I can not believe that people were actually rooting for the computer.
It is amazing what these robots can be programmed for.
Getting a machine to answer trivia questions is a fun thing. How much more will they be used for?
I am interested in working in this industry. How much will it grow?
This is an area that I don’t understand very much. I am definately interested in technology, and would like to be trained for this area. What kind of education would it take?
I am already half way throught my degree in Computer Science. What type of specialty would I need to get into this area of programming?
I thought this was great! I want to get an IT degree and even though I am not considered part of the youth generation, it was an inspiration to me also. I would love to have been involved in creating this super computer!
Hi Starine. If you’re interested in working at Jeopardy I’m not quite sure when Alex Tribek will be leaving that position
But if you’re interested in computers the information technology field is growing rapidly. Technology is always growing and changing, so being knowledgeable in the field will make you a great asset to any company!
Hi James. If you’re interested in robotics you might to consider a degree in robotic engineering or exploring the world of information technology to learn more about computers.
Hey Erica. You’re actually headed in the right direction. The researchers at I.B.M who worked on “Watson” had different degrees including computer science.