What Can Watson Do for Your Company?

Photo: Sam Gustin/WIRED

Companies are using IBM Watson to grow and transform their businesses in huge ways that are making a lot of professionals nervous. Instead of writing it off as another new supercomputer, lets take a look at what actually makes Watson unique. Watson is a cognitive technology that processes information much more like a smart human than a smart computer. Rather than thinking humans will be replaced by a computer, you should realize that this is, in fact, a huge opportunity.

In 2011, you may recall, Watson summarily bested its human competitors onJeopardy.It was able to accomplish that because it doesnt just use conventional computing; it also combines three additional capabilities: natural language processing, hypothesis generation and evaluation, and dynamic learning. No other technology on the market today possesses these combined capabilities. Its this synergy that has the potential to make Watson your businesss new best friend.

Unlike typical computers, Watson can unlock the vast world of unstructured data that makes up as much as 80 percent of existing information today. Watson knows that all data is not created equal. Its able to distinguish between different kinds of information. It culls relevant data from disparate sources, and it creates hypotheses and continually tests them in order to narrow in on the most reliable and accurate results. Because Watson can read, analyze, and learn from natural language, just as humans can, it can make the sorts of informed, context-specific decisions we would expect from a person, as opposed to a search engine.

Such as what to cook for dinner? Yes, in fact, when Bon Apptit invited Watson to plumb the magazines database of some 9000 recipes, Watson effectively taught itself how to cook. Once it understood the principles of taste and cuisine style, as well as the intricate mechanics of flavor combinations it was able to generate new, creative dishes. And since Watson is capable of dynamic learning, it literally gets smarter by tracking feedback from its users and learning from both failures and successes.

IBM is betting big on Watsons ability to transform the world of business. It recently opened a $1 billion dollar Watson Headquarters in New York to provide support for entrepreneurs and developers interested in the technology. Were beginning to see the tech applied to the fields of education, retail, and medicine. If the success of this rollout indicates anything, its that Watson is going to be here for a very long time, and if you think your field is somehow immune to disruption from Watson, its time to wake up.

Imagine if your employees and customers had the ability to receive help from the most knowledgeable expert in your field at a moments notice. You may begin to understand the implications of Watson as a potent disruptive technology and why its currently poised to revolutionize a huge array of industries.

A majority of online shoppers dont end up buying because, without a great sales associate, they lack confidence in their selection. To solve this problem, retail clothing and supply company, The North Face, is now using an app developed by Fluid Inc., which draws on Watson technology to provide customers with an infinitely patient and expert personal salesperson who can intuitively and conversationally answer questions like What do I need for a two-week hiking trip in the mountains?

This retail expertise extends into the realms of travel, banking, real estate, and finance. Watson-based technologies are able to replace many of the current services of human travel agents, bank officers, real estate agents, and financial advisors by drawing upon comprehensive knowledge of existing information to provide detailed answers to questions traditionally posed only to fellow humans, such as: Given our interests, whats a low-key and romantic beach I could travel to with my wife this summer? Given my age and goals, how should I diversify my retirement portfolio? and Given our family dynamics and income, which neighborhood in my city offers both great schools and affordable homes?

Even more disruptive is the way Watson is already altering the medical industry. Imagine your ideal human doctor: you know, the one with the top-notch education and impeccable track record who makes it his mission to keep up with the very latest research. As Watson takes over the role of an expert diagnosing diseases and prescribing the most cost effective treatment, the human doctors role will change to focus on what humans do best.

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What Can Watson Do for Your Company?