"IBM's supercomputer Watson has trounced its two competitors in a televised show pitting human brains against computer bytes".
"After a three night marathon on the quiz show Jeopardy, Watson emerged victorious to win a $1million (£622,000) prize.
The computer's competitors were two of the most successful players ever to have taken part in Jeopardy.
But in the end their skill at the game was no match for Watson.
Ken Jennings had previously notched up 74 consecutive wins on the show - the most ever - while Brad Rutter had won the most amount of money, $3million (£1.9m).
But the victory for Watson and IBM was about more than money. It was about ushering in a new era in computing where machines will increasingly be able to learn and understand what humans are really asking them for.
Jeopardy is seen as a significant challenge for Watson because of the show's rapid fire format and clues that rely on subtle meanings, puns, and riddles; something humans excel at and computers do not.
On the night of the grand finale, IBM announced a research agreement with speech recognition firm Nuance Communications, to "explore, develop and commercialise" the Watson computing system's advanced analytics capabilities in the health care industry.
The technology behind Watson has the ability to scan and analyse information from many more resources than a human can in a short period of time, potentially aiding doctors in diagnosing patients quickly.
"We can transform the way that health care professionals accomplish everyday tasks by enabling them to work smarter and more efficiently," said Dr John E Kelly III, senior vice president and director of IBM research.
Other possible applications for Watson's technology include dealing with big sets of data commonly found in the legal and financial worlds".
Source: BBC
