Is the human race in "Jeopardy!"?

Over the past three days, contestants on the trivia show Jeopardy! have been playing against an IBM super computer who, like most things "super", can interpret complex questions and answer them within seconds. The computer has been worked on for four years by over twenty researchers, all of whom I assume have never had a girlfriend.

The computer, named Watson (after Emma Watson, who played Hermione in the Harry Potter movies), won out over Jeopardy's two top contestants, Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter. Watson, despite being a computer, still has more personality than the two human contestants. Jennings and Rutter, even though they have both won millions of dollars on Jeopardy!, both still live in their mothers' basement.

 Today's game, the second game of the three day event, ended with Watson having a combined total of $77,147, over triple what Jennings ($24,000) and Rutter ($21,600) had. After the impressive win by the super computer, many people were left speculating how could this technology be used for regular people? IBM is confident that the computer could be used to answer questions for physicians and lawyers. However, they do mention that Watson can only answer questions when asked by an old Italian man in a suit. To counteract this problem, IBM is currently working on creating an Alex Trebek robot to accompany Watson.

With the furthering of computer technology that was used to create Watson, what could be in the future for us? Would it really be possible to create a computer that could live as a human? If so, how would that computer assimilate into human culture? Would we be able to tell who was really a computer? Would the computers go to the same schools as us, or ride in the front of the bus with us, or use our water fountains?

To answer these questions, we turn to the most intelligent source we have, Watson. He thinks for a second, then replies "What is Toronto???????" with 13% certainty.

After the end of day three, Apple announced that they have also been working on a super computer able to answer questions faster, more competently, and in a more trendy fashion than Watson. The computer, dubbed iWatson, will compete against IBM's Watson next week, in a battle to the death. While iWatson is capable of completing the same tasks as Watson is, Apple CEO, Steve Jobs, says that iWatson will feature a full touch screen, 50% thinner design, and front facing camera for video chats during game shows.

With the competition between the IBM and Apple super computers, people are left to wonder, who will be the supreme computer overlord of the once free world? Both companies are known for their innovation in the computer technology field, with Apple most notable for their iPod music player and Mac computers, and IBM most notable for those big black square computers used by public school systems everywhere.

Jeopardy! contestants with Apple's iWatson, now on Verizon Wireless.