Audience at CMU rooted for computer all the way
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Eric Nyberg, a professor in the Language Technologies Institute at Carnegie Mellon University who worked with IBM developing the computer Watson, watches with a group on campus as Watson competes against people playing "Jeopardy!"
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The answer is: During Wednesday evening's telecast of "Jeopardy!," they were overwhelmingly rooting for the computer to beat the humans.
The question: Who are the computer science students at Carnegie Mellon University?
More than 300 CMU students crowded into Rashid Auditorium on the Oakland campus Wednesday to watch a computer called Watson get the best of "Jeopardy!" champions Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter.
Watson earned $77,147 in the three-day competition, blowing away the $24,000 for Mr. Jennings and the $21,600 for Mr. Rutter.
But while the CMU students cheered the computer's victory -- and the scientific milestone it represents -- they still expressed sympathy with the human contestants.
"It's very revolutionary, and I think it could be a big turning point," said Dixie Kee, 19, a sophomore studying computer sciences. "I was kind of divided, rooting for both sides. I was, like, 'Watson is so cool, I hope he wins.' But I felt kind of bad for the humans about halfway through."
The gathering was part viewing party -- with free pizza, snacks and cake -- and part classroom experience as the students learned how the IBM researchers developed a giant computer that could excel at a popular question-and-answer game show format.
It also was a bit of a recruiting tool for IBM, which made sure the company got contact information for students in attendance.
"We're very proud of this, and these are the kinds of things that top research universities get involved with," said Mark Sherman, who works with IBM in Pittsburgh. "Obviously, we want to attract top talent."
CMU has a vested interest in Watson. It was the first university to sign on to the project four years ago, and CMU staff and graduate students contributed many of the advancements that made the project a reality.
"CMU was a key collaborator," Mr. Sherman said. "They were researching the same kinds of limitations [IBM] was facing in these systems. There were meetings and together they designed the new architecture."
Eric Nyberg, a professor in CMU's Language Technologies Institute, said Watson presented numerous challenges, such as designing a computer that could recognize the syntax, semantics and context of human language. Such things were elemental in developing a computer that could answer people's questions.
First Published February 17, 2011 12:00 am
