He hops from category to category, while most humans pick a category and stick with it.
I noticed the same thing, but I really hoped it was unintentional. It doesn't feel like it's a fair fight otherwise, since it means he's exploiting a weakness intrinsic to his competitors. The whole point of this competition is to show that a computer can compete and win at a human level. If it weren't, then why force him to physically push a button to ring in? If Watson is intentionally jumping categories to confuse humans, then it sort of feels like he's cheating a bit.
As I write this, I realize a lot of this comment is motivated by my bruised human ego, but it just doesn't feel quite right to me.
I think this is precisely the thing about AI which makes it so interesting. An intelligence which is not a mere emulation of the human will be alien, and through its strangeness we can learn more both our limitations, as well as complement our own abilities.
It doesn't feel like it's a fair fight otherwise, since it means he's exploiting a weakness intrinsic to his competitors
Late in the first round you can see Jennings change his strategy a bit -- he starts ringing in before he knows the answer. Jennings is exploiting the fact that Watson won't ring in until it has confidence in an answer.
That's awesome. He can make that strategy pay off because he's Ken freaking Jennings. Usually the money penalty for buzzing in but answering incorrectly (or not at all) would dissuade a contestant from buzzing in before actually knowing the answer.
I wonder if the Watson developers did this because they were unable to simulate the benefit human players get by graduating through progressively difficult questions in a category.
I noticed the same thing, but I really hoped it was unintentional. It doesn't feel like it's a fair fight otherwise, since it means he's exploiting a weakness intrinsic to his competitors. The whole point of this competition is to show that a computer can compete and win at a human level. If it weren't, then why force him to physically push a button to ring in? If Watson is intentionally jumping categories to confuse humans, then it sort of feels like he's cheating a bit.
As I write this, I realize a lot of this comment is motivated by my bruised human ego, but it just doesn't feel quite right to me.