Final Response Essay

The following paper answers the questions to the discussion case over IBM Watson, a question answering (QA) computing system. In the first response, it discusses whether or not playing Jeopardy was a good way to test machine intelligence. In the second response, it asked if Watson is a good example of a computer system demonstrating intelligence similar to that of a human. It also asked if Watson would be useful in customer service systems and what it would take for businesses to use Watson for this purpose. In the final response, it asked for suggestions for some other applications for Watson. Machine intelligence is taking over how people get things done and most of the time it is done very efficiently.

Yes, playing Jeopardy was a good way to test machine intelligence because the machine was able to look back to its database and synthesize the data to come up with an answer. The article, “How IBM’s Watson Became a Jeopardy Champion,” stated that in order for a machine to win at Jeopardy it had to be able to understand the language of a clue, register the intent of a question, scour millions of lines of human language, and return a single, precise answer, in less than three seconds (Laudon). It is awesome to be able

to do all that within three seconds. Computers are very intelligent when they are being used for a good cause.
I do not believe that Watson is a good example of a computer system demonstrating intelligence similar to that of a human.

Human intelligence is better than a computer system. Computer systems such as Watson are based on gathering massive evidence, analyzing, and scoring. It is just a machine. Human intelligence gathers emotion, logic, purpose, and potential. Watson cannot compare to these human characteristics, it may speak as if it was human, but it is just speaking off sequences and codes not its actual self (IBM Watson…). Human intelligence is valued much more than machine intelligence because any machine can pull up data that is asked, but when an individual provides answers, phrases, or facts without the use of technology that is

impressive.
Watson would be good for any type of system. I do think that customer service systems would benefit from using Watson. Watson can input all the customers data and locate reviews, surveys, and the needs for each customer. It would take dedication to be able to run this system through the business because it would be a large database with high security. Businesses need to make an important decision on if Watson is worth spending so much money. It would also take work off individuals’ hands and manually do any type of customer service while they are there at the location or at any other place. While individuals concentrate on managing the business Watson can be doing the labor and with its high technology take care of customers.
I would recommend Watson to be used in law enforcement in identifying suspects and doing the right research to close a case with the correct charge. Also, answering questions of any past case or criminal for future cases (Laudon). Some applications I would suggest are that Watson get rid of the extensive amount of data that it provides and instead break it down to some of it in order to avoid overuse of data space. To prevent errors Watson needs to be reviewed more than once to provide doctors, legal authority, scientists, etc. with the correct answer and study before continuing onto the next step. Most applications put into place would get rid of employees, which is a bad thing for people. People need jobs to be able to maintain their families or themselves. These applications made for machines should consider that people need to have labor.

Cited Sources
IBM Watson: The Science Behind an Answer. (2011, July 18). Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DywO4zksfXw
Laudon, Kenneth C., Jane P. Laudon. How IBM’s Watson Became a Jeopardy Champion.
Essentials of Management Information Systems.