Jeopardy

Watson Crashed Multiple Times on Jeopardy, Plus Other Watson Tidbits

If you saw the second night of Jeopardy’s Watson vs Man and Watson’s flat out dominance, I wouldn’t blame you for being a little bit sad about humanity. Thankfully it’s not straight to SkyNet for Watson, turns out the machine is a little unreliable and prone to crashes. https://gizmodo.com/ibm-jeopardy-challenge-night-2-watson-runs-wild-5761636 PBS was filming a documentary on…

Tech News Casey Chan Feb 16

A Jeopardy! Board That Would Bring Watson To Its Knees

Man, that Watson supercomputer must be feeling pretty good about itself after last night’s rout of humanity’s finest. But at least when we’re in our robot-proof bunkers, huddled over our last can of cold beans, we’ll be able to take comfort in our human ability to decide which kitteh is cutest. [Hijinx Ensue via The…

Books & Comics Brian Barrett Feb 16

IBM Jeopardy Challenge, Night 2: Watson Runs Wild

If you happened to miss out on the first half of Round 1 last night, shame on you. You can catch up here. When we last left our heroes, Watson and the undefeated Jeopardy champion Brad Rutter were tied for the lead with $5000 apiece. Ken Jennings, meanwhile, trailed with $2000. Watson had some shaky…

Television Adrian Covert Feb 16

Who Is Ken Jennings, Lover of Supercomputers

Jeopardy’s prodigal son, Ken Jennings took some time to discuss his intimate encounters with Watson, the IBM-Supercomputer-cum-Jeopardy-whiz. In an interview with NPR, Jennings proclaimed, “Watson is the only Jeopardy contestant I’ve Ever Been inside.” WHOA. TOO MUCH INFORMATION, MAN! NOT COOL. [NPR]

Tech News Adrian Covert Feb 15

What’s Next For the Jeopardy! Computer

A medical robot; a Google-killer; a financial adviser; a tool for trawling legal documents; an aide for the intelligence services. These are just some of the careers that could be in store for Watson, a supercomputer created by IBM which this week will challenge human knowledge and intelligence in a three-part special edition of the…

Tech News Jim Giles - New Scientist Feb 15

IBM Jeopardy Challenge, Night 1: Watson Ties for the Lead

After practice rounds and plenty of hype, Watson, IBM’s latest supercomputer, stepped up to the podium to take on two of Jeopardy’s greatest champions: Ken Jennings, who won 74 straight rounds of Jeopardy en route to becoming a pop culture icon, and Brad Rutter, who netted more money than any other contestant while winning the…

Tech News Adrian Covert Feb 15

Fight Night: Getting Stoked For Watson’s Jeopardy Debut

In what may be the greatest man versus machine matchup since Kasparov fell to Deep Blue, the match between Watson—Jeopardy-playing supercomputer—and the two greatest human Jeopardy players of all time will finally be televised tonight. If it’s anything like the warm-up round, we’re all doomed. [Laughing Squid]

Tech News Brian Barrett Feb 14

The Jeopardy-Playing Computer’s Secret Weapon

Okay, so we already know that IBM’s Watson computer can outshine humanity’s fiercest nerd-warriors. But it’s not just because it’s smarter. It’s because of how it’s wired. Esquire’s got a fun interview this month with Ken Jennings, whose full Jeopardy bout with Watson will air this coming Monday. In it, they note just why, exactly,…

Tech News Brian Barrett Feb 10

Watch IBM’s Jeopardy-Playing Computer Obliterate Humanity’s Champions

You may have heard about IBM’s Jeopardy-playing Watson supercomputer. You may have also heard about its practice match against human Jeopardy superstar Ken Jennings. But it’s not until you watch the bloodbath that you finally get it. We’re doomed. https://gizmodo.com/the-magic-of-watson-ibms-question-answering-supercompu-5565462 The video’s not the highest quality, since the powers that be are saving the big…

Tech News Brian Barrett Jan 13

What Is Last Week’s “Alex Meets Auto-Tune” Jeopardy Category?

Presumably in an effort to engage younger audiences, this happened last week, resulting in the respectable, gray-haired host of a popular TV quiz show singing clues through a trendy pitch-correcting software used by artists such as T-Pain and Kanye West. If you heard someone mention “Auto-Tune the Jeopardy” last week and figured it was the…

Tech News Kyle VanHemert Jun 27

The Magic of Watson, IBM’s Question-Answering Supercomputer

A computer that can have a conversation with you in real, human language is a hallmark of science fiction films, but has always seemed ludicrously unrealistic. Here’s the thing: IBM just built one. With the goal of creating a computer that can win at Jeopardy, a group at IBM has been hard at work on…

Tech News Adam Frucci Jun 16

Remainders – The Things We Didn’t Post: Coming Right Up Edition

In today’s Remainders: the upcoming. The Spring Design E-Reader, soon to be available for presale; 4chan’s mainstream embrace, as signaled by their Jeopardy mention; an idiotic Mall Cop’s impending termination; a backlash to RFID gravestones, and more. Oh Alex? We thought the Spring Design Alex ebook reader was a viable threat to the Nook when…

Tech News Kyle VanHemert Feb 24

Remainders – The Things We Didn’t Post: Use Your Head Edition

In today’s Remainders: your noggin! It’s what chess champ Garry Kasparov used to defeat increasingly sophisticated computer opponents; it’s what the contestants on Jeopardy consult for answers (or questions); it’s the site of the next X-Prize challenge; and more. Checkdisk For many years, Garry Kasparov was better at chess than any other person in the…

Tech News Kyle VanHemert Feb 3

IBM Prepping ‘Watson’ Computer to Compete on Jeopardy!

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…

Tech News Jack Loftus Apr 26

Alex Trebek Explains Jeopardy!’s Tech: “I Look Better in High-Def”

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…

Television Dan Nosowitz Feb 7

Jeopardy 1999 (1979)

This Saturday Night Live sketch from (1976?) is chock full of Walter Mondale, Fran Tarkenton, and a slew of other references sure to sail over the youngsters’ heads. The sketch stars Steve Martin, Dan Aykroyd, Laraine Newman and Chevy Chase. Many thanks to Zach Parr for bringing this piece of the paleo-future to our attention.…

Tech News Matt Novak May 13

Jeopardy Tryouts Online: Deadline for Registration in 2 Hours

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…

Tech News Brian Lam Jan 25

Watson Crashed Multiple Times on Jeopardy, Plus Other Watson Tidbits

A Jeopardy! Board That Would Bring Watson To Its Knees

IBM Jeopardy Challenge, Night 2: Watson Runs Wild

Who Is Ken Jennings, Lover of Supercomputers

What’s Next For the Jeopardy! Computer

IBM Jeopardy Challenge, Night 1: Watson Ties for the Lead

Fight Night: Getting Stoked For Watson’s Jeopardy Debut

The Jeopardy-Playing Computer’s Secret Weapon

Watch IBM’s Jeopardy-Playing Computer Obliterate Humanity’s Champions

What Is Last Week’s “Alex Meets Auto-Tune” Jeopardy Category?

The Magic of Watson, IBM’s Question-Answering Supercomputer

Remainders – The Things We Didn’t Post: Coming Right Up Edition

Remainders – The Things We Didn’t Post: Use Your Head Edition

IBM Prepping ‘Watson’ Computer to Compete on Jeopardy!

Alex Trebek Explains Jeopardy!’s Tech: “I Look Better in High-Def”

Jeopardy 1999 (1979)

Jeopardy Tryouts Online: Deadline for Registration in 2 Hours

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