Watson and the Era of Cognitive Computing

In February, Rob High spoke to the chapter at its monthly membership luncheon. High is an IBM fellow and chief technology officer of the Watson Group. As an IBM fellow, High is one of the finest research minds in the world. IBM selects between four and nine of these distinguished individuals each year and gives them broad latitude to conduct next generation research and development. Only 246 individuals have earned the title in the program's 50-year history, and only 85 are active employees. Collectively, IBM fellows have generated 7,500 patents and earned five Nobel prizes. In his presentation entitled “Watson and the Era of Cognitive Computing,” High discussed the challenges inherent in advancing the computer field and his team's experiences developing Watson, the IBM supercomputer that competed on Jeopardy! in 2011. The cognitive research behind Watson represents what High believes to be the next era of computing: computers that are able to think contextually and process information at a deeper level than current technological capabilities. He explained that computers only understand about 20 percent of available data—the rest is unstructured information such as voice, music and video. The Watson Group is focused on harnessing this wealth of previously untapped information to make computers more effective at meeting economic and social needs. The Shreveport Times also covered the event and has made the entire presentation available in audio format on its website.

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