Watson and Its Methods
April 30, 2011
In the Fast Company article by Ariel Schwartz, IBM is partnering with Caltrans and the University of California at Berkeley to create a “personalized commuter forecast” for individuals living in large cities and high traffic areas. This p.c.f. will be dubbed “Watson” because everyone needs a trusty sidekick.
Schwartz’s article “IBM Will Go All Watson On Your Commute, Keep You Out Of Traffic” explains that the program, which is still in its prototypes stage, will use the GPS on your phone to analyze traffic on your daily route to traffic and suggest the route that will get you to work the fastest. (According to IBM you’re still S.O.L. if you live in an area with no or few alternate routes, go figure.)
Instead of slogging through the traffic, your phone recommends that you drive halfway to work, park in the BART parking lot, and take the subway system the rest of the way. If you leave now, you’ll make your way through traffic just in time to catch the next train to work.
I feel like that’s a little too good to be true. Though IBM’s willingness to utilize already in place technologies such as the road sensors used by Berkeley and Caltrans is admirable (no wonder they’re partnered.)
Let’s face it. It all boils down to money, IBM is hoping to generate cash based upon sales to different transportation entities, merchants who would build along newly used transit systems and sales from advertisements–in exchange for IBM knowing your every location. IBM is not the government. Some people may take the position, “What’s one more conglomerate tracking user behavior?”
Leslie Radcliff, April 30, 2011
Freebie
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