After four years of development and a sensational successful run on the TV quiz show “Jeopardy!” IBM’s answer to Apple’s Siri is ready for the next step: placement inside consumer’s pockets.
Vice president of innovation at IBM, Bernie Meyerson, says that he sees Watson as a voice-activated electronic personal assistant which can answer questions in a matter of moments. For instance a farmer might consult Watson about when the best time to plant corn in his field will be. If he is standing in his cornfield when he inquires, Watson will answer in seconds after consulting its database based on location, historical trends and scientific studies.
IBM hopes that revenue from Watson will reach $16 billion by 2015 after they find more uses for the device. Watson already knows its popular culture and history, as was demonstrated on its acclaimed appearance on “Jeopardy!” Watson went “brain to CPU” against two of Jeopardy’s greatest players, Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter, and won, in front of 15 million viewers.
Since then Watson has gone back to school and mastered financial information for Citigroup Inc, and cancer information for WellPoint Inc. Coming up next in Watson 2.0 is an energy-efficient device which can work on tablets and smartphones.
“The power it takes to make Watson work is dropping down like a stone,” Meyerson said. “One day, you will have ready access to an incredible engine with a world knowledge base.”
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