With IBM’s Project Debater, the company shows off some impressive tech, but ultimately leaves you wondering if they really understand the market.
Now IBM has unleashed Project Debater, their least cleverly named project yet, to compete against a fair of debaters in two short formal debates on telemedicine and space exploration. The format, adapted from the British style that favors smug asides over cold hard facts, allowed Debater to show off its ability to scour the web and turn logic and evidence into bad analogies. For some reason, we’re supposed to celebrate this. From Motley Fool:
The computer apparently “held its own” against these formidable opponents, winning over some audience members and even cracking a few jokes along the way. “There is a lot at stake today … especially for me,” Debater quipped. Its analogies were also impressive: “Subsidizing space exploration is like investing in really good tires. It may not be fun to spend the extra money, but ultimately you know both you and everyone else on the road will be better off.”
