32 Replies to “What is Toronto?????”

  4. Once computers replace our politicians, the US conquest of Canada will proceed. After all, we can’t embarrass our new overlord, Watson. So he got the answer wrong — we must make it right.

  6. As someone who has worked with computers (advanced software, hardware) for a long time, I have to say that Watson was extremely impressive.
    I doubt the average person will be able to appreciate what IBM has achieved here. This is a significant event in the evolution of computer software.

  10. “This is a significant event in the evolution of computer software.”
    Meh. It’s an impressive bit of code, but Watson beat Jennings because of its ability to ring in the buzzer immediately after the question.
    It’s like building a robot that can run the 100-metre dash in exactly the same speed as the fastest sprinter. The robot would win almost every time because it could react to the starting gun faster every time.
    If Watson had been randomly choosing the buzzer at about the same rate as the average Jeopardy contestant, then the competition might have had a bit more legitimacy.
    (Or, the three contestants could have answered each of the questions separately and see who would have won. But that’s not the way the game is played.)
    Singularity is still a ways off. Don’t hold your breath for SkyNet.
    As for your last question, Robert, who’s to say robots haven’t replaced some of our politicians? Al Gore, anyone?

  11. I was reading up on Watson this morning and found this gem:
    “Watson does make mistakes, and Ferrucci says the errors can be funny and revealing.”
    “One of my favorites is, ‘What do grasshoppers eat?’ and it came back and said ‘kosher,’ ” Ferrucci says, noting that grasshoppers are apparently a kosher food and Watson made connections between the two words without comprehending the real point of the question.”
    http://www.npr.org/2011/02/14/133697585/on-jeopardy-its-man-vs-this-machine
    Maybe it’s got wit as well. As TJ noted, this is a brilliant piece of engineering.

  12. “Meh. It’s an impressive bit of code, but Watson beat Jennings because of its ability to ring in the buzzer immediately after the question. ”
    This just reinforces my point that the layman does not understand the significance of what has been achieved.
    Rob, the computer was solving the questions in *real time*, and it had no buzzer advantage over the competitors (read the rules on Jeopardy).
    The fact that the machine could process such complex questions so quickly is partially what is so significant. It got to the buzzer first because it determined the answer faster than the other players. It did not press the buzzer whenever it was unsure about the answer.
    The same sort of things were said when Deep Blue beat Kasparov – the match wasn’t fair, IBM cheated, Kasparov wanted a rematch, etc. etc. People missed the point entirely, which was that a computer beat the reigning champion at a game that many (including Kasparov) though was impossible for a computer to win. Deep Blue was at the cutting edge of computer chess playing, and in the years that followed computers got even better at it, to the point where computer-vs-man in chess is no longer even interesting.
    So yes, you could probably configure the Jeopardy game in such a way that Waston would not have won, but that’s not the point at all. The point is that the computer showed its cojones on what most though would be an impossible task, and the rest will be history.
    It is the next challenge, whatever that my be, that is now of interest.

  13. Next time,Alex,put all the questions in “bureaucratese” and we’ll see how “Watson” does.
    Jeopardy’s has been a favourite in my family since before Alex Trebek left “Music Hop”, and “Reach for the Top”.

  14. My favorite screw up was on the first day. Jennings buzzed in and guessed “What is the ’20’s”, and was wrong. Watson buzzed in afterwards, and guessed “1920’s”.

  16. “As someone who has worked with computers (advanced software, hardware) for a long time, I have to say that Watson was extremely impressive.”
    Yes, but is he capable of love?
    (This thread has so far insulted hamsters, computers, bricks and robots.)

  18. (This thread has so far insulted hamsters, computers, bricks and robots.)
    But not politicians who are beneath mere insult

  19. I resemble that remark, Ms. Mamba! I did not compare hamsters to politicians, that would be rude. To the hamsters.
    I said hamsters could -replace- politicians, which is merely true. ~:D

  21. “What city blah blah second world war hero blah blah major battle?”
    Toronto …
    Watson must therefore think Lester Pearson was a second world war hero and Buttonville was a major battle (or Toronto City Centre). I can see the logic in that.
    If up against two hotties, the final jeopardy answer to question should be “this is something one of us three will not experience tonight.” and the question “what is an orgasm?”
    I would imagine Watson would get that one first.

  22. “This hockey team will never again win the Stanley Cup.”
    human — Toronto Maple Leafs
    Watson — Montreal Maroons

  23. The fun part for those so inclined would be writing Jeopardy “answers” for which Watson’s “question” would be appropriate.

  24. AI Is well on its way. The computer even fudged its money wager. Sounds like a politician to me.
    A for the Answer, maybe the machine knows more than we do? Toronto always wanted to be a big American city. I guess the computer figured it had arrived.
    It had Questions though. ho could blame it when half the city are foreigners from around the ME & other poverty environs.
    LOL this must have just stunned the pinkos in the center of the Universe.
    JMO

  25. I think Watson was mocking Alex Trebek because it knew it couldn’t get away with saying, “That’s not what you’re mother said last night, Trebek.”

  26. I think you meant to type, “your mother”, andycanuck. Clearly this is a case of human error.
    Daisy. Daisy. Tell me your answer do…

  27. Wake me up when Watson is equipped with the equivalent of eyes and ears to receive the answers. In the match just completed it had the advantage of receiving the information in the form of a digital text as soon as the question was posted, therefore no conversion time, giving the advantage it probabaly had over the humans.

  29. I detect distinctive evidence validating Issac Asamov’s view that most humans harbour in instinctive fear of robots.

  31. In defense of Robert Huck, and in complete denunciation of “TJ”
    I was on Jeopardy! two years ago. There is a careful screening process to make sure idiots do not make it on (two on-line tests, and two in-person tests, ‘kay?) and Ken and Brad are two very bright, capable individuals.
    Many times, the game comes down to who can ring the buzzer at the right time. You are not allowed to ring in until Alex finishes reading the question. Time and again, I knew the answer, but was locked out by one of my fellow contestants (for anyone who cares to look up my humiliation – NO LINK PROVIDED GOdd**MIT) who was able to hit their ringer between Alex’s final tones and my slow thumb.
    TJ, if you don’t think 1/1000 of second is a lifetime in Jeopardy! time, you know nothing about the game. In the screening rounds, you are told “it’s all about the button”. I wish I had heeded that advice more, and spent less time memorizing US Vice Presidents, and more time on nimbleness.

  32. I’ve been saying all along Toronto is Canada’s largest American city…Watson was at least partially correct.

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