Smartest Machine on Earth

In 2011, artificial intelligence met popular culture when an IBM computer challenged Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter, two of the top winners on the TV quiz show Jeopardy. Although the media had a field day playing up the man-versus-machine angle, the contest actually involved serious issues. Could IBM's entrant, named “Watson” after the company's founder, navigate the complexities of puns, jokes, and wordplay built into typical Jeopardy questions? Could a computer learn from its mistakes? Aired on the PBS series NOVA, this episode explores IBM's quest to qualify for a slot on Jeopardy, which involved upgrading Watson's memory with hundreds of practice games. During the audition process, Watson commits an embarrassing gaffe, which illustrates both the machine's enormous potential and its limitations. But packed with scholarship gleaned from the Internet, Watson slowly masters the broad knowledge base, fast response time, and common-sense ability to decipher clues. Will it be enough to emerge victorious? More is involved than a million-dollar jackpot in Smartest Machine on Earth, which makes clear that the development of Watson could eventually advance work on high-tech solutions in such areas as medical research and weather forecasting. Along the way, director Michael Bicks enlivens the story with numerous pop references, ranging from Robby the Robot to films like The Matrix and Star Trek. A timely, entertaining, and thought-provoking documentary, this is recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (S. Rees)