Artificial intelligence has always been a major focus of the scientific research community, but seeing a computer called Watson compete on a trivia show like Jeopardy was truly incredible. The processes that a computer has to go through to narrow down choices and respond to a question are unimaginable and to out-power the human brain is an even more daunting task. In his final round on Jeopardy, however, Watson creamed his opponents, both former Jeopardy champions.
While Watson’s performance was stellar, I can’t help but wonder why Jeopardy was selected as a test of intelligence, rather than something more meaningful for Watson to do. If Watson is simply trained to answer trivia questions, there is no purpose for such artificial intelligence. It is what we do with such intelligence that determines whether the expense and risk is worthwhile.
In my opinion, artificial intelligence, like a vast majority of technology, should be experimented with very carefully. As we saw in the film “2001: A Space Odyssey,” a computer with too much power like HAL 9000 is dangerous if it overpowers its creators. In a way, Ian Malcolm of Jurassic Park was right: scientists often think about what they can do, rather than what they should do. Maybe its best we leave intelligence to sentient, living things.
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