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.
– David Baulder, Associated Press.
Awe-some. Finally, someone has thought to combine two of my favorite things: Jeopardy! and human-robot competition.
You may remember Watson from this post in June. At that point, Watson was still prone to prolonged bouts of answering “Tommy Lee Jones” to clues that had nothing to do with him. I really hope that happens again in the televised version, because computer malfunction is eminently more hilarious when it suggests the computer’s fascination with Tommy Lee Jones.
Also, if by some chance the correct response to every single answer in all three days of Jeopardy! play is “Tommy Lee Jones,” then you know the fix is in.
As of June the computer didn’t appear ready to beat the upper echelon of human competitors, so unless IBM has made some adjustments, smart money’s on Jennings or Rutter.
Of course, I imagine the computer has a reasonable advantage when it comes to betting in Final Jeopardy!, since presumably it has got some sort of matrix to determine the optimal bet given the amount of money it has relative to its opponents. At least I hope it has that. I always wish that existed when I pause the show before Final Jeopardy! and try to determine how each contestant should bet.
It would be kind of awesome if Rutter and Jennings had to conspire to beat the thing in the last round, though I guess that wouldn’t be in the spirit of competition. And it would be even more awesome if, as I suggested in June, Jennings uses the last bit of life in his battered body to scribble the correct Final Jeopardy! response, takes his last breath after learning he has defeated the machine, then is commemorated in folklore forever.
I mean, that would suck for him. But it’d make for a really good story.
Finally, it would be hilarious if all the conventional introductions and mid-game banter extend to the machine. “A computer from Hawthorne, New York: Watson.” Then at the break it tells Alex about the crazy time it got lost in Paris or something.
Tedquarters 
This is pretty impressive but I would be way more intrigued if they had Watson go up against John Goodman as Marlon Brando and Norm MacDonald as Burt Reynolds.
“I was riding through Tahiti on a bicycle that I built myself…”
“Mr. Brando chose to speak to a puppet in lieu of participating.”
Ted: http://www.j-archive.com/wageringcalculator.php
Oh Devon you beautiful bastard. This will change my life forever.
I found that a couple years back, when I thought I was going to be on Jeopardy. I ended up being the first alternate for the College Tournament. I’m still bitter.
My plan, if I ever get on Jeopardy!, is to carry on like a professional athlete and speak only in cliches.
So when Alex comes around for banter, and he’s like, “I heard you’ve done some acting…” because I provided them the tidbit that I was in a Jack-in-the-Box commercial, I’ll just be all, “You know Alex, just gotta keep working hard, giving 110%. Got a couple of great opponents here today, and it’s gonna be a dogfight.”
Then when I hit a Daily Double there’ll be a sack dance.
I was on Jeopardy. Believe me, it is really hard to produce on the spot, although Ted’s extensive media experience may mitigate that. It’s not like playing in your living room– things happen very fast, and the buzzer can be tricky to get the hang of. The announcer guy, Johnny Gilbert, has a hairpiece that should be in the Fake Hair Hall of Fame, and Alex wears more makeup than the guest of honor at a Mafia funeral. All very disturbing.