Friday 22 April 2011

Capitol Alert: Jerry Brown, meet Watson

SAN JOSE - Gov. Jerry Brown, arriving early for an event at an IBM research facility this morning, was introduced to Watson, the supercomputer that bested human competitors on the TV quiz show "Jeopardy!"

There the famously brainy governor was instructed in the most basic rule of the game.

"Why do you say, 'What is?'" Brown asked.

"In 'Jeopardy!' you have to answer in the form of a question," said Carl Guardino, CEO of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group.

Brown wondered aloud about people who spend time learning sufficient trivia to be competitive on "Jeopardy!," but in Watson he saw potential.

"Are you ready to sell it?" he said.