10 Scary Advancements in AI

4. Watson Owns Jeopardy

In the infancy of computer technology, computers were room-sized machines that basically had the computing power of a strong calculator. These days, Watson is also a room-sized computer, and yet his computing power is so strong that he can whip Jeopardy champs like they’re nothing. IBM’s thinking computer is able to guess, infer, and even trust his gut when it comes to answering questions. Add to that his staggering intellect and you’re looking at a real powerful/scary box. When he took on the top two winning Jeopardy champs of all time, Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter, he whooped them soundly, earning “$77,147 leaving Rutter and Jennings in the dust with $21,600 and $24,000 respectively.”