Weakly Watson: Unusual Watson Applications
June 9, 2016
The change in leadership at IBM Watson is a bit like the weather. One does not know how the weekend will turn out. I read “5 Unusual Things You Can Do with IBM’s Watson.” I must admit that I have missed the full page ads with weird made up chemical symbols suggesting Watson’s combinatorial magic. I also have missed the “Watson cures cancer” write ups. I always wonder how that project is coming along.
In the unusual write up, I noted the five things; to wit:
- Create a “custom” order for granola.
- Shop for clothes.
- Find a bottle of wine. [Shades of Endeca’s long standing example!]
- Ask health questions. [When I worked at Ziff in the 1990s, we had a health reference center which performed the same trick. Libraries loved the system. Doctors, not so much.]
- Check into a Hilton and ask about bus routes. [Uber, anyone?]
My hunch is that IBM wants to make darned certain it is in the race for smart software. Okay, IBM Watson with its open source technology, home brew scripts, and acquired technology is really big in artificial intelligence. I give up already.
Custom granola? A slam dunk. Help me shop for clothes? My wife may have some thoughts about that. These five items comprise compelling use cases for someone I assume. Oh, when I check into a hotel, I think Uber, not bus routes. Ever try to take a bus in Xian, China?
Stephen E Arnold, June 3, 2016
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