# Computer program to play Jeopardy **URL:** \ **Category:** NYSpeed Off Topic\ **Created:** [December 15, 2010, 2:16pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/computer-program-to-play-jeopardy/207232 "2010-12-15T14:16:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![travisn](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/travisn/32/5046_2.png) [@travisn](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/travisn)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2010, 2:16pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/computer-program-to-play-jeopardy/207232/1 "2010-12-15T14:16:24Z")
> [@yahoo news](#): > > The game show “Jeopardy!” will pit man versus machine this winter in a competition that will show how successful scientists are in creating a computer that can mimic human intelligence. > > Two of the venerable game show’s most successful champions — Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter — will play two games against “Watson,” a computer program developed by IBM’s artificial intelligence team. The matches will be spread over three days that will air Feb. 14-16, the game show said on Tuesday. > > The competition is reminiscent of when IBM developed a chess-playing computer to compete against chess champion Garry Kasparov in 1997. > > The “Jeopardy!” answer-and-question format is a different kind of challenge. It often requires contestants to deal with subtleties, puns and riddles and come up with answers fast. > > “Watson” is named for IBM founder Thomas J. Watson. It will look nothing like the computer “maid” on “The Jetsons.” Rather, IBM said its on-screen appearance will be represented by a round avatar. > > The computer has already been tested in some 50 games against past “Jeopardy!” champions. But neither IBM nor “Jeopardy!” representatives would say what “Watson’s” record was. > > The winner gets a $1 million prize. IBM said it would donate its winnings to charity, while Jennings and Rutter said they would give half of their prize money away. > > Jennings had the game show’s longest winning streak, taking 74 games in a row during the 2004-2005 season. Rutter has won more money than any other “Jeopardy!” player, nearly $3.3 million during his original appearance and three subsequent tournaments. > > IBM is hoping the technology it exhibits will have some practical uses eventually, for instance helping doctors diagnose illnesses or solving customer problems at technical support centers. video: [http://video.yahoo.com/watch/8671330/23504206](http://video.yahoo.com/watch/8671330/23504206) Google is probably shitting their pants right now. ---
**Author:** ![fshowcars](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/fshowcars/32/5937_2.png) [@fshowcars](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/fshowcars)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2010, 7:36am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/computer-program-to-play-jeopardy/207232/2 "2010-12-16T07:36:57Z")
ibm and jeopardy… my two favorite things. ---
**Author:** ![LZ1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@LZ1](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/LZ1)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2010, 7:37am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/computer-program-to-play-jeopardy/207232/3 "2010-12-16T07:37:43Z")
That is the dumbest thing ever… Here let me parse google results and answer questions :lol: This is like having a spelling contest against a dictionary ---
**Author:** ![Gl1](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/gl1/32/5471_2.png) [@Gl1](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Gl1)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2010, 7:49am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/computer-program-to-play-jeopardy/207232/4 "2010-12-16T07:49:47Z")
Why would google be shitting their pants? this is really cool. It’s a great way to show the power of a computer. When they did it with chess, it seemed too easy. The peices only moved in certain directions/ patterns, and it should be relativity easy for a personal computer to beat any person these days. I wonder if they have supercomputers that simulate battles during times of war to come up with the best strategy. Or maybe one to help find binladen. That is what IBM should be working on, they would become kind of heros. > [@LZ](#): > > That is the dumbest thing ever… > > Here let me parse google results and answer questions :lol: > > This is like having a spelling contest against a dictionary if you were to type jeopardy questions into google, you think it would come up with the right answer? ---
**Author:** ![boardjnky4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/96bed5/32.png) [@boardjnky4](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/boardjnky4)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2010, 7:55am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/computer-program-to-play-jeopardy/207232/5 "2010-12-16T07:55:38Z")
> [@LZ](#): > > That is the dumbest thing ever… > > Here let me parse google results and answer questions :lol: > > This is like having a spelling contest against a dictionary a lot of jeopardy questions aren’t that easy Chess is another game where it isn’t as easy as it looks to have a computer do it. I had a professor at UB who’s research was focused on building the perfect chess player via computer. He is a brilliant professor who has studied taught at Ivy league universities. The human mind is VERY powerful. ---
**Author:** ![LZ1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@LZ1](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/LZ1)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2010, 7:57am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/computer-program-to-play-jeopardy/207232/6 "2010-12-16T07:57:14Z")
Jeopardy is based on facts not some mathematical strategy like chess or war simulators… All this would be is a computer looking up facts against some database humans can’t compete with that. ---
**Author:** ![boardjnky4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/96bed5/32.png) [@boardjnky4](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/boardjnky4)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2010, 7:59am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/computer-program-to-play-jeopardy/207232/7 "2010-12-16T07:59:00Z")
> [@LZ](#): > > Jeopardy is based on facts not some mathematical strategy like chess or war simulators… > > All this would be is a computer looking up facts against some database humans can’t compete with that. have you watched a lot of jeopardy? It’s based on facts, but the way the “answers” are stated, the questions are difficult to understand and require you to read between the lines…and FAST I’d be willing to bet round 1 would go to the computer every time, but round 2 is where the real brilliants shine. ---
**Author:** ![travisn](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/travisn/32/5046_2.png) [@travisn](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/travisn)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2010, 7:59am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/computer-program-to-play-jeopardy/207232/8 "2010-12-16T07:59:42Z")
> [@Gl@re](#): > > Why would google be shitting their pants? because this will make for a much better search engine providing a correct answer, not word search based results. ---
**Author:** ![boardjnky4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/96bed5/32.png) [@boardjnky4](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/boardjnky4)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2010, 8:00am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/computer-program-to-play-jeopardy/207232/9 "2010-12-16T08:00:50Z")
> [@travisn](#): > > because this will make for a much better search engine providing a correct answer, not word search based results. IBM is not interested in breaking into the search engine business…They make their money elsewhere ---
**Author:** ![LZ1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@LZ1](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/LZ1)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2010, 8:05am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/computer-program-to-play-jeopardy/207232/10 "2010-12-16T08:05:54Z")
We have been using sample jeopardy questions and running them through google and parsing the results for a while this morning…with some decent programming logic it doesn’t seem to bad. ---
**Author:** ![roast](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/roast/32/5498_2.png) [@roast](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/roast)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 6:19am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/computer-program-to-play-jeopardy/207232/11 "2010-12-17T06:19:03Z")
Look out Ken Jennings, Big Blue is coming after you! ---
**Author:** ![travisn](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/travisn/32/5046_2.png) [@travisn](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/travisn)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 6:27am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/computer-program-to-play-jeopardy/207232/12 "2010-12-17T06:27:33Z")
> [@boardjnky4](#): > > IBM is not interested in breaking into the search engine business…They make their money elsewhere so you cant sell programs to other companies? ---
**Author:** ![boardjnky4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/96bed5/32.png) [@boardjnky4](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/boardjnky4)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 7:15am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/computer-program-to-play-jeopardy/207232/13 "2010-12-17T07:15:08Z")
> [@travisn](#): > > so you cant sell programs to other companies? Of course you can…but who in their right mind would sell something that could conquer google? Something of that magnitude is usually kept in-house. The time/money spent on a google-killer project could likely never be re-couped in a one-time sale…it would be like selling off an entire division/company. What google has, is extraordinary. It is nothing short of that. Just because the only thing you see, is a little white text-box, doesn’t mean that the engine behind is only some insignificant amount of code. What they’ve built takes enormous numbers of engineering hours, hardware, resources, etc… It’s not something you just build up with a 10 person team, then sell to another company. To compare a niche AI project to the Google search engine is almost a slap in the face to google. ---
**Author:** ![Gl1](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/gl1/32/5471_2.png) [@Gl1](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Gl1)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 7:23am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/computer-program-to-play-jeopardy/207232/14 "2010-12-17T07:23:18Z")
> [@LZ](#): > > We have been using sample jeopardy questions and running them through google and parsing the results for a while this morning…with some decent programming logic it doesn’t seem to bad. it being google, or this? the other problem with using old jeopardy “questions” is that they might already be in some database. The whole idea is that it can take a “question” that no one has ever heard before, read between the lines, and come up with the correct “answer”. Something like this would really help robots understand women. ---
**Author:** ![boardjnky4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/96bed5/32.png) [@boardjnky4](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/boardjnky4)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 10:36am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/computer-program-to-play-jeopardy/207232/15 "2011-01-14T10:36:10Z")
Watson killing it > **[IBM's Watson supercomputer destroys all humans in Jeopardy practice round...](https://www.engadget.com/2011/01/13/ibms-watson-supercomputer-destroys-all-humans-in-jeopardy-pract/)** > > So, in February IBM's Watson will be in an official Jeopardy tournament-style competition with titans of trivia Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter. That competition... the second video really shows how difficult the logic is on this ---
**Author:** ![travisn](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/travisn/32/5046_2.png) [@travisn](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/travisn)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2011, 11:05am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/computer-program-to-play-jeopardy/207232/16 "2011-01-14T11:05:24Z")
nice. thanks for the vid