It’ll be man vs. machine on ‘Jeopardy!’

December 14, 2010 1:14PM

Ken Jennings (left) and Brad Rutter, two of the most successful contestants on the game show “Jeopardy!”

Updated: April 19, 2011 5:13AM

All-time “Jeopardy!” champions Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter will soon face a new challenge — a computer program dubbed “Watson” developed by IBM’s artificial intelligence team — in the game show’s first man-vs.-machine competition, to be aired Feb. 14-16.

The show’s two biggest winners ever will take on Watson for a grand prize of $1 million in a competition IBM says it hopes will show how successful scientists have been in creating a computer that can mimic human intelligence.

Jennings, who won 74 games in a row during the 2004-2005 season for the show’s longest winning streak, and Rutter, the top money-winner at nearly $3.3 million from his original appearance and three subsequent tournaments, said they’d donate half to charity, and IBM plans to donate all of its winnings.

Watson is named for IBM founder Thomas J. Watson. Its on-screen appearance will be represented by a round avatar.

The computer already has been tested in 50 games against past “Jeopardy!” champions, but neither IBM nor “Jeopardy!” representatives would say what Watson’s record was.

Gannett News Service, AP

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