Help Us Ken Jennings, You're Our Only Hope

2/16/2011: The Day Man Was Dethroned

Today will be one of the most significant days in the history of mankind. 

Today, we will be defeated at our most unique game. 

Today is the day that a machine will surpass humans at... human language.

You've likely heard the story, read the news, seen the advertisements. Tonight, ABC will air the final installment of a historic three-night series of Jeopardy. The matchup... a number of Jeopardy heavyweights (consecutive win record-holder Ken Jennings and biggest all-time money winner Brad Rutter) will compete against a newcomer by the name of Watson. You may have also heard that Watson is, in fact, a computer. Developed by IBM, Watson represents the newest evolution of computers and another giant leap in the development of artificial intelligence. The novelty of Watson and the technology he (it?) represents will inevitably have dramatic implications in the not-so-distant future for the way those of us who still require blood and oxygen live our lives.

Now, I think it's easy to miss the significance of losing at Jeopardy. After all, it's just a game- and a fairly old one, at that. Furthermore, computers are already smarter than us, right? I could never store the entirety of Wikipedia in my brain. I could never run complex mathematical computations in a fraction of a second. I could never interpret billions of zeros and ones and create an image of the Mona Lisa. So, isn't this just one among many feats computers have achieved?

Absolutely not. This is fundamentally and totally different. This is something never before done- something that even the most optimistic "futurists" had long remained skeptical about. You see, computers have always been better at humans at logic, reason, and pure computation (hence, the term "computer"). That is exactly what they were designed for- something that is, for humans, an area of weakness. The domain where computers have never been able to best us has been in the area of language. Language is one of the few defining traits of humanity as we know it. No other species has language. Language is incredibly complex- not just with regard to the raw information that must be processed to effectively use and understand language... but, more importantly, with regard to the way that raw information is assigned meaning.

The complexity of human language can be seen most clearly in the concept of a joke. In many forms of jokes, comedy is derived from a disparity between literal and implied meaning. For instance, consider the following joke:

A business man got on an elevator in a building. When he entered the elevator, there was a blonde already inside and she greeted him by saying, "T-G-I-F" (letters only).

He smiled at her and replied, "S-H-I-T" (letters only)."

She looked at him, puzzled, and said, "T-G-I-F" again.

He acknowledged her remark again by answering, "S-H-I-T."

The blond was trying to be friendly, so she smiled her biggest smile and said as sweetly as possibly "T-G-I-F" another time.

The man smiled back to her and once again replied with a quizzical expression, "S-H-I-T."

The blond finally decided to explain things, and this time she said, "T-G-I-F, Thank Goodness It's Friday, get it?"

The man answered, "Sorry, Honey, It's Thursday."

What makes this a joke is that the key word in question ("S-H-I-T") is being used to mean two different things. The implied meaning, which is interpreted by the woman and meant to be inferred by the joke-listener, is that S-H-I-T is a vulgar word that is seemingly in conflict with the greeting put forth by the woman. However, the literal meaning, received at the punch-line, is that S-H-I-T is an abbreviation, just like T-G-I-F, and one that is quite appropriate once the reality of the situation sets in.

For humans, a joke like this is very easy to recognize. But, as we all know, computers are incapable of seeing the comedy of the joke. They don't understand the difference between the literal and the implied meanings- or why the contrast between these two meanings brings about laughter. This disconnect is at the root of the Jeopardy challenge. Jeopardy, perhaps more than any other game in history, is all about the subtle trickery of human language. Literal interpretation of questions is completely useless in jeopardy. You must understand implied meaning- and understand it fast.

A few videos from IBM. They are very good. And slightly creepy.





To me, the most significant point is that if Watson wins tonight, computers would have, for the first time ever, surpassed humanity in all of the raw categories of intelligence that exist. Before today, computers were better at storing and processing information. Tonight is about something much more than that. It's about the ability to assign meaning and significance to information.

Yesterday we were the undisputed kings. Tomorrow...

"What is court jester?"