Big Data in Practice

37 IBM WATSON Teaching Computers To Understand And Learn

Background

IBM are the granddaddy of the computing world. Their founding came about through efforts at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries to use machines to help process US census data. This led to the birth of tabulation-based computing and the dawn of the information technology age.

In the decades since then, IBM have constantly innovated and evolved to keep at the forefront of the industry. Major developments – including the development of mainframes, microprocessors, personal computers and magnetic storage – have shaped the industry into the one we know today. Most recently, IBM have moved to position themselves as a key player in the Big Data and analytics market.

Watson, which first gained fame by winning the US TV gameshow Jeopardy! in 2011, is the result of IBM’s work to develop what they call “cognitive computing”. IBM Watson vice president Steve Gold told me the project heralds the arrival of machines that don’t need to be programmed: they can learn for themselves. The Watson system, and the Watson Analytics service it provides, is named after the company’s founder, Thomas Watson.

What Problem Is Big Data Helping To Solve?

Until recently, language has been a big barrier between computers and humans. Computers are incredibly quick at calculations, and their logic is infallible. These are two qualities that make them immensely helpful to humans. However, they can only do what we tell them, and traditionally ...