The most charming moments from Watson, the I.B.M. computer that clobbered two brilliant human champions on “Jeopardy!” were when Watson wasn’t certain or failed. Those moments did not come often, but virtual humanity seemed most at hand when they did. Then his/her/its wagers on the answers would turn cautious and Watson even flashed question marks of self-doubt, as if to acknowledge the lack of a brow to furrow.
The audience groaned and laughed sympathetically as the room-size computer — a discreet graphic presence on stage — showed some fallibility. Watson could not Google for forgotten minutiae like the rest of us at home. All there was was what the engineers put inside.
That was impressive enough food for human thought. Is Watson the precursor, the true ancestor, of the super-intelligence machines that futurists have long been predicting will some day be full partners, even superiors, at helping humans labor and create?
In a three-program contest, Watson was at first surprising for being only tied for the lead with one of the humans at the end of Day 1. Just when viewers thought, hey, we can handle this guy, Watson took off, adapting with ever keener competitiveness — buzzing in with the right answers at warp speed in showdown rounds.
Watson finished with the crown and a 3-to-1 advantage for quickness and correctness over the nearest rival, who scored prodigious success on past shows. Watson didn’t preen; not in the programming.
It’s a pity the moderator could not indulge the ultimate TV cliché and ask how it felt to win. The closest Watson could come to feeling before us was when he muffed a city question — the clue: “Its largest airport is named for a World War II hero; its second largest for a World War II battle.” His two competitors answered correctly: Chicago. Watson flashed, “What is Toronto?????” as if doubt — personal doubt — lurked within.
