Critique Essay

Submitted By Angel-Thompson-Schmi
Words: 581
Pages: 3

Critique Essay The article “Computer Wins on ‘Jeopardy!’: Trivial, It’s Not”, written by John Markoff, gives us a new dimension on artificial intelligence. The article depicts an I.B.M. computer called Watson defeating two former and famous contestants on the well-known quiz game show called Jeopardy. The contestants, Watson, Brad Rutter and long-time champion Ken Jennings, with 74 consecutive wins, battled against each other answering clues to general knowledge questions to become the next champion. The contestants battled through three rounds of Jeopardy answering clues to several different categories. Some of the categories covered in the contest included U.S. Cities, Bestselling Books and Medical Diagnosis. Consequently, Watson ends up winning and is named champion. Watson was created by I.B.M. who wanted to prove that intelligent machines would not only be able to respond to humans but that it was quick and knowledgeable. Watson did hiccup during the game by answering some questions wrong but ended up strong in the end with a final tally of $77,147 against Jennings’ $24,000 and Rutter’s $21,600. The article was published in 2011, and gives us an insight of how artificial intelligence has impacted today’s society. I.B.M. and similar companies are recognizing the significance Watson played during Jeopardy. Plans have since been made to expand on these technological advances and use them for scientific research in furthering the medical and consumer fields. John Markoff begins the article by stating “In the end, the humans on ‘Jeopardy!’ surrendered meekly.” This gets the reader’s attention and has one wondering what this article is all about. Throughout the article, Markoff’s piece switches between artificial intelligence, Watson and Jeopardy, and leaves the subject interesting. The reader does not get lost or confused in the article, as it is well written and very informative. Markoff’s article concentrates on the game show itself and how fast Watson can buzz in, answering questions. Throughout the article the author explains how contestants were asked questions from different categories, how fast, and certain they were in answering. He does touch on the consumer and medical applications of Watson’s performance briefly. The best potential application example Watson provided was the question, “You just need a nap. You don’t have this sleep disorder that can make sufferers nod off while standing up,” in which Watson