Special Colloquium: Watson - how People Collaborate with Computers

The talk is now available here for online viewing.

17:00 - 18:30 h
18:30 h reception and networking
Refreshments will be served. 

The colloquium talk will take place at the Department of Informatics of the University of Zurich at Binzmühlestrasse 14 (interactive Map) in Room 0.K.02

A map is available below.

For several years, IBM Research has been working on the ability for computers to understand natural language - languages like English intended for use by humans, not computers. Last year, they tested their latest creation, codenamed "Watson", by entering it into the American TV gameshow "Jeopardy!" against two champions at the show. If "Watson" could cope with the complex and varied uses of English used in Jeopardy's cryptic clues, understand what the question was asking, and come up with the answer before the humans, then maybe they really had a breakthrough. Dale Lane from IBM will describe the history and development of the project, give a technical presentation about the technology behind Watson, and talk about the work that has been done since the Jeopardy! Challenge.

Dale is a developer in IBM's Watson Solutions. He is working to transform the incredible Research achievement into a product that can be applied to real-world challenges. Prior to Watson, he spent several years in IBM's Emerging Technologies division - a part of Software Group responsible for looking ahead to tomorrow's technologies. He helped bridge the gap between IBM's Research and Development divisions, identifying ways for future IBM Software products to exploit upcoming technologies.

See also: CV Dale Lane

Map