Gizmodo: jeopardy

IBM Prepping 'Watson' Computer to Compete on Jeopardy!

Jack Loftus — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 22:30:00 EDT

IBM, not content to merely crush the spirits of chess masters like Garry Kasparov, have started working with Jeopardy! to create a supercomputer that will undoubtedly answer questions more accurately than Sean Connery.

The supercomputer, dubbed simply as a "Question Answering" system, is named Watson. Designers believe it will have the speed and "understanding" necessary to research, buzz in, and then answer questions fast enough to compete on the popular game show. But it's not Google, engineers say. Don't you dare call it Google.

And as you can see in the video, Alex Trebek is totally for it, going so far as to appear as though all his lines were prepared by IBM PR. Anything to avoid having to face off against your mortal enemy Sean Connery, eh Trebek? [YouTube - Thanks, blam!]

Alex Trebek Explains Jeopardy!'s Tech: "I Look Better in High-Def"

Dan Nosowitz — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 14:30:00 EST

Trebek, he of the condescending interviews and phantom mustache, recently talked to Wired about the surprisingly myriad changes his program has made over the years to adapt to new technology. Spoiler: the internet is important.

Jeopardy! is far and away the best game show of all time, but I can't imagine why anyone would've gone on back in the old days when questions were only worth $10. And as flashy as the show looks these days, does ANYBODY need or even want to watch it in 3D? What would that even entail? But this is a great interview, and it's nice to hear how a decidedly old-school game stayed true to its roots while being conscious of remaining up-to-date. [Wired]

Jeopardy Tryouts Online: Deadline for Registration in 2 Hours

Brian Lam — Thu, 25 Jan 2007 19:51:30 EST

Everyone knows that Gizmodo readers are some of the smartest, wittiest, and most physically beautiful specimens to grace this green earth. How about you guys show off the copious grey matter by trying out for Jeopardy. The web-based first round of tryouts are tonight, and come in the form of a 50-question test. To advance to the next level, you have to finish with a score better than 70%. The deadline is 7pm PST, which happens shortly.

Thanks to Yahoo! Tech's Chris Null for the tip.–Brian Lam

This is JEOPARDY! - JEOPARDY! ONLINE CONTESTANT TEST [via Chris Null]