(Harvest) To gauge the future of IBM, one needs to understand its cognitive computing platform, Watson. As its core business declines, IBM is counting on Watson to drive growth in new areas such as analytics, healthcare, internet of things, and security. But, what kind of artificial intelligence (AI) is IBM Watson? And, how does it compare to the many deep learning based products entering the market today?
Watson started as a follow-on project to IBM DeepBlue, the computer and AI program that defeated world chess champion Gary Kasparov. DeepBlue demonstrated that a computer could defeat a human in chess, a game with well-defined rules and limited, fully visible solutions.
