Known to many as the IBM innovation that beat Jeopardy!'s all-time champions, Watson is truly at the forefront of cognitive computing, Big Data and analytics technology. Using advances in natural language processing and analytics, Watson has a unique ability to understand the subtle nuances of human language, sift through vast amounts of Big Data, and provide evidence-based answers to its human users' questions. By processing information in a way that is similar to how people think, Watson represents a significant shift in system architecture and the ability for organizations to quickly analyze, understand and respond to Big Data.
Watson's ability to answer complex questions posed in natural language with speed, accuracy and confidence has enormous potential to improve decision making across a variety of industries from healthcare and retail to telecommunications and financial services.
2013 marks the two-year anniversary of the Watson system's debut on Jeopardy!, and much has happened since.
In February 2013, IBM, WellPoint, Inc. and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centers unveiled the first commercially-based products based on Watson. These innovations represent a breakthrough in how medical professionals can apply advances in analytics and natural language processing to Big Data, combined with the clinical knowledge base, including genomic data, in order to create evidence based decision support systems. These Watson-based systems are designed to assist doctors, researchers, medical centers, and insurance carriers, and ultimately enhance the quality and speed of care.
In May 2013, IBM unveiled the IBM Watson Engagement Advisor, the industry's first consumer-facing Cognitive Computing breakthrough that will assist a brand's customer service agents, or sit directly in the hands of consumers through mobile devices, cloud-delivered services and online chat sessions. In one simple click, the solution's "Ask Watson" feature will quickly address customers' questions, offer advice to guide their purchase decisions, and troubleshoot their problems. With the launch of the IBM Watson Engagement Advisor, businesses and consumers can now gain access to a cognitive computing assistant that learns, adapts and understands a company's data quickly and easily, enabling users to have Watson at work in a matter of days, while increasing its knowledge and value over time.
Watson also holds potential for academia. IBM recently announced it would provide a modified version of an IBM Watson system to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, making it the first university to receive such a system. The arrival of the Watson system will enable new leading-edge research at Rensselaer, afford faculty and students an opportunity to find new uses for Watson, and help prepare students for high-impact, high-value careers in Big Data, analytics and cognitive computing. IBM has also hosted Watson academic case competitions and internship programs.
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Join the conversation at #IBMWATSON.
To view the Infographics - IBM and MSK Advancing Cancer Care, click here.
To read the Smarter Planet blog post on "Learning Machines: Watson Could Bring Cancer Experitse to the Masses," click here.
To view the Flickr set - IBM Makes the Grade, click here.
Images
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IBM Watson goes to work for you, tranforming how brands and consumers engage (Infographic)
Date added: 21 May 2013
Consumers are increasingly looking for personalized, efficient interactions with the brands they frequent. To address this need, IBM has unveiled the IBM Watson Engagement Advisor, which uses cloud-delivered mobile and online chat technology to assist businesses' customers, anytime and anywhere. From answering questions to offering guidance for purchases, IBM Watson will allow a brand's customer-facing employees to make better recommendations, or sit directly in the hands of consumers, offering helpful advice via mobile engagement. (Credit: IBM)
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IBM unveils the IBM Watson Engagement Advisor, tranforming how brands engage with consumers (1)
Date added: 21 May 2013
IBM Watson Solutions VP Stephen Gold interacts with the new IBM Watson Engagement Advisor, which uses cloud-delivered mobile and online chat technology to assist businesses' customers, anytime and anywhere. From answering questions to offering guidance for purchases, IBM Watson will allow a brand's customer-facing employees to make better recommendations, or sit directly in the hands of consumers, offering helpful advice via mobile engagement. (Credit: Jon Simon/Feature Photo Service for IBM)
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IBM unveils the IBM Watson Engagement Advisor, tranforming how brands engage with consumers (2)
Date added: 21 May 2013
On Tuesday, May 21, 2013, IBM unveiled the IBM Watson Engagement Advisor, which uses cloud-delivered mobile and online chat technology to assist businesses' customers, anytime and anywhere. From answering questions to offering guidance for purchases, IBM Watson will allow a brand's customer-facing employees to make better recommendations, or sit directly in the hands of consumers, offering helpful advice via mobile engagement. (Credit: Jon Simon/Feature Photo Service for IBM)
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IBM unveils the IBM Watson Engagement Advisor, tranforming how brands engage with consumers (3)
Date added: 21 May 2013
On Tuesday, May 21, 2013, IBM unveiled the IBM Watson Engagement Advisor, which uses cloud-delivered mobile and online chat technology to assist businesses' customers, anytime and anywhere. From answering questions to offering guidance for purchases, IBM Watson will allow a brand's customer-facing employees to make better recommendations, or sit directly in the hands of consumers, offering helpful advice via mobile engagement. (Credit: Jon Simon/Feature Photo Service for IBM)
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IBM unveils the IBM Watson Engagement Advisor, tranforming how brands engage with consumers (4)
Date added: 21 May 2013
On Tuesday, May 21, 2013, IBM unveiled the IBM Watson Engagement Advisor, which uses cloud-delivered mobile and online chat technology to assist businesses' customers, anytime and anywhere. From answering questions to offering guidance for purchases, IBM Watson will allow a brand's customer-facing employees to make better recommendations, or sit directly in the hands of consumers, offering helpful advice via mobile engagement. (Credit: Jon Simon/Feature Photo Service for IBM)
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IBM Watson: New Breakthroughs Transform Quality Care for Patients
Date added: 08 Feb 2013
Manoj Saxena, IBM General Manager, Watson Solutions, Mark Kris, MD, Chief of Thoracic Oncology, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and Lori Beer, WellPoint’s Executive Vice President of Specialty Businesses and Information Technology use the new Watson-based cognitive computing product for oncology. IBM, Memorial Sloan-Kettering and WellPoint today introduced the first commercially based products based on Watson at an IBM healthcare forum in New York City.(Jon Simon/Feature Photo Service)
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Big Computer On Campus
Date added: 30 Jan 2013
Flanked by the avatar of IBM's Watson computer, IBM Research Scientist Dr. Chris Welty (left) and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute student Naveen Sundar discuss potential new ways the famous computer could be used. IBM donated a version of its Watson system to Rensselaer, making it the first university in the world to receive such a system. Rensselaer students and faculty will explore new uses for Watson and ways to deepen its cognitive computing capabilities. (Philip Kamrass/Feature Photo Service for IBM)
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IBM Watson Makes the Grade
Date added: 17 May 2012
In Rochester, New York, Christian Beck (left) and Jamiee Saxton (right), students of the Simon Graduate School of Business at the University of Rochester are winners of the IBM Watson case competition for their proposal on crisis and disaster management. Students from the school submitted new ideas for applying the IBM Watson technology to address complex societal and business challenges in the transportation, energy, retail and public sector industries. The competition is helping students gain new skills in analytics and cognitive computing to prepare for future career opportunities. (Matt Wittmeyer/Feature Photo Service for IBM)
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IBM and MSK Advancing Cancer Care
Date added: 22 Mar 2012
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and IBM are developing a powerful system built upon IBM Watson to help doctors create individualized cancer treatment recommendations for their patients.
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Citi and IBM ‘Electronic Brain’ Project
Date added: 05 Mar 2012
Citi and IBM have a long history of collaboration. In 1954, Citi and IBM announced their use of IBM's 701 Electronic Data Processing Machine, called an 'electronic brain,' to dramatically reduce the time required for cost-benefit analysis.
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Citi and IBM Watson Project
Date added: 05 Mar 2012
Today, Citi and IBM are exploring how the Watson technology could help advance customer interactions, and improve and simplify the consumer banking experience.
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Infographic - ONE YEAR LATER, Watson by the Numbers
Date added: 15 Feb 2012
Infographic - One Year Later, Watson by the Numbers
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IBM and Jeopardy! Relive History with Encore Presentation of Jeopardy!: The IBM Challenge
Date added: 30 Aug 2011
IBM's Watson computer system, powered by IBM POWER7, competes against Jeopardy!'s two most successful and celebrated contestants -- Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter. Jeopardy! will broadcast an encore presentation of the first-ever man vs. machine Jeopardy! competition airing on September 12, 13 and 14, 2011.
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IBM Watson
Date added: 13 Jan 2011
Watson, powered by IBM POWER7, is a work-load optimized system that can answer questions posed in natural language over a nearly unlimited range of knowledge.
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IBM Watson Computing System
Date added: 14 Dec 2010
IBM's Watson computing system is made up of electronically generated graphic compositions in which computer algorithms define the shape, texture and motion.The visual identity provides a peak at what a computer goes through as it responds to a Jeopardy! clue. Watson’s on-stage persona shares the graphic structure and tonality of the IBM Smarter Planet logo, a symbol of the company's effort to make the world work better.
Contact(s) for the Press kit
Rebecca Mettler
IBM Media Relations
914-766-1551
rmettle@us.ibm.com
Holli Haswell
IBM Media Relations
720-396-5485
hhaswell@us.ibm.com
Additional resources
Site links
For more information about the science behind Watson, click here
View Jeopardy! / Watson photos on Flickr
IBM Watson University Challenge and Symposium
To view Healthcare Infographic on Flickr, click here
YouTube Video: First Academic Case Competition Proposes Novel Ways to Put IBM Watson to Work