IBM debuts AI computer that can debate people
IBM gave the world an update on the competition between humans and machines. The company known for building supercomputers that can beat grand master chess players and champion Jeopardy contestants, hosted another Man vs. Machine contest in San Francisco on Monday. IBM gave reporters in San Francisco a demonstration of Project Debater. Think Deep Blue, but instead of playing chess, this system debates. Computer scientists have labored for six years to enable a system that culls millions of documents of information, listens and comprehends and then forms arguments based on that data. Debater even made jokes. This is all part of IBM's pursuit to create computers that master human speech.
Debater won one of the two debates as voted by the audience, but the who won isn't what mattered. What mattered is that this is the first artificial intelligence system to demonstrate the ability to argue. According to IBM, the technology represents a breakthrough in equipping computers with the ability to understand language and be expressive. In the debates, two experienced debaters, Noa Ovadia and Dan Zafrir, took on IBM's AI. Each competitor opened with a four minute speech. Then received another four minutes to rebut, and finally each was given two minutes to make a closing argument.
Some of the highlights included Debater's ability to listen to an opponent's argument and then attempt to undermine it. Debater sometimes guessed what the opponents would say and launched a preemptive attack against it. Debater even made a couple of attempts at joking, one time stating that its blood would boil. Some of the lows came when Debater used barely relevant data to make a point. In the debate over the use of telemedicine, Debater cited a Supreme Court ruling in Iowa that almost didn't make sense.
AI applications have been in the headlines this year. This is one of the tech sector's hottest areas and one that companies around the world are pursuing. The promise is that AI can help us access and analyze big amounts of data faster and more efficiently than humans. For the companies who jump into the AI turf, there's a chance to make money. Skeptics fear that AI could cause more job losses for people, or even lead humans to a robotic apocalypse like Terminator.
IBM isn't afraid to continue toward more advanced AI. For half a century, the company has showcased new AI by pitting it in head to head competitions against humans. The debate Monday is reminiscient to February 10, 1996, when IBM's Deep Blue supercomputer made worldwide headlines by defeating Garry Kasparov, the Russian grandmaster, in a single game of chess.
At this early stage of Debater's evolution, IBM isn't concerned about winning debates. IBM is more interested in seeing AI deal with the human ambiguity, reality, and context. IBM want to see if it can write well, be persuasive, and give good evidence. The audience was asked to identify their opinions on the two debate subjects: "We should subsidize space exploration" and "we should increase the use of telemedicine" prior to the start of the debate. Later, they were asked which one of the debaters made the most compelling arguments, the human or the computer.