Actress Lisa Kudrow presents IBM's Watson with "Person Of The Year" at the 15th Annual Webby Awards. IBM's Watson computer system is congratulated by actress Lisa Kudrow, host of the 15th Annual Webby Awards, after Watson was honored as the "Person Of The Year" at the Webby Awards gala in New York City on June 13, 2011. The Webbys honor excellence in over 100+ Website, Interactive Advertising, Online Film & Video, and Mobile & App categories. Courtesy of IBM

New York, NY, USA - June 13, 2011

IBM (NYSE: IBM), which is celebrating its centennial this Thursday, announced that its Watson computer system was honored this evening as the "Person Of The Year" at the 15th Annual Webby Awards gala in New York City.

IBM's Watson computer system is congratulated by actress Lisa Kudrow, host of the 15th Annual Webby Awards, after Watson was honored as the "Person Of The Year" at the Webby Awards gala in New York City on June 13, 2011. The Webbys honor excellence in over 100+ Website, Interactive Advertising, Online Film & Video, and Mobile & App categories. Courtesy of IBM

Earlier this year, Watson captured the international spotlight when it competed on the renowned quiz show Jeopardy! and defeated the show's two most successful and celebrated contestants, Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter.

Jeopardy! provides the ultimate challenge because the game’s clues involve analyzing subtle meaning, irony, riddles, and other complexities in which humans excel and computers traditionally do not. Courtesy of IBM / YouTube

Hailed as the "Internet's highest honor" by The New York Times, The Webby Awards is the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet, including Websites, interactive advertising and media, online film and video, and mobile technology and apps.

Watson's ability to understand the meaning and context of human language, and rapidly process information to find precise answers to complex questions, holds enormous potential to transform how computers help people accomplish tasks in business and their personal lives. Courtesy of IBM / YouTube

Established in 1996, the 15th Annual Webby Awards received nearly 10,000 entries from all 50 states and over 60 countries worldwide.

Ken Jennings (L), IBM Watson (C) and Brad Rutter (R)  Courtesy of IBM / YouTube

The Webby Awards is perhaps best known for its famous five-word requirement for acceptance speeches.

Ken Jennings (L), IBM Watson (C) and Brad Rutter (R) Courtesy of IBM / YouTube

When presented with the Person of the Year award by host Lisa Kudrow, Watson responded, "Person of the year - ironic."

Dr. David Ferrucci, Watson Principal Investigator, IBM Research. Courtesy of IBM / YouTube

Created by IBM Research scientists, Watson is a breakthrough in using computers to answer questions posed in natural language over a nearly unlimited range of knowledge.

Dr. John E. Kelly III, Senior Vice President and Director of IBM Research. Courtesy of IBM / YouTube

With this unprecedented analytics technology capability, Watson is able to analyze massive amounts of data and arrive at the correct answer to a staggering variety of difficult questions across an unlimited range of topics.

Dr. David Gondek, Watson Algorithms and Strategy, IBM Research. Courtesy of IBM / YouTube

While tackling the challenge of Jeopardy! makes for compelling entertainment, the technology behind Watson has deep business value.

IBM's Watson computing system is made up of electronically generated graphic compositions in which computer algorithms define the shape, texture and motion. The visual identity provides a peak at what a computer goes through as it responds to a Jeopardy! clue. Watson’s on-stage persona shares the graphic structure and tonality of the IBM Smarter Planet logo, a symbol of the company's effort to make the world work better. Courtesy of IBM

IBM is currently applying Watson-like technology to solve challenges in healthcare, financial services, retail, and much more.


About IBM


This year marks the 100-year anniversary of IBM's founding on June 16, 1911.

To celebrate, the company has selected 100 milestones that have shaped IBM and the world in the last century, including Watson.

Rich content and unique visual marks illustrate the 100 Icons of Progress.

The list is being revealed throughout the year on

www.ibm100.com  


Contact information

Michael Loughran
IBM Media Relations
914-945-1613
mloughra@us.ibm.com  


Source: IBM

http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/34765.wss  

The Watson software is powered by an IBM POWER7 server optimized to handle the massive number of tasks that Watson must perform at rapid speeds to analyze complex language and deliver correct responses to Jeopardy! clues. Courtesy of IBM / YouTube

Video
Perspectives on Watson: Healthcare

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwDdyxj6S0U  


Video
IBM Watson: Watson After Jeopardy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fanwviCWMQs&feature=channel  


Video
IBM Watson Why Jeopardy?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1c7s7-3fXI&feature  


Video
IBM and the Jeopardy Challenge

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FC3IryWr4c8&feature=channel  


Video
Watson Sparring Matches: Watson as a Competitor

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kOEmupSHB8&feature=channel  


Video
Watson Sparring Matches: Pop Culture Performance

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__OTUQq-Ch0&feature=channel  


Video
IBM Watson: Computer Understands Natural Language

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BflW1hQ4RwE&feature=channel  


Video
IBM Watson: Countdown to Jeopardy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dP4Jc5rGT1A&feature=channel  


Video
IBM Watson: Watson After Jeopardy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQmuETLeQcg&feature=channel  


Video
IBM Watson: Final Jeopardy! and the Future of Watson

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lI-M7O_bRNg&feature=channel  


Video
Perspectives on Watson: Customer Service

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TFDxIyaiCE&feature=channel  


Video
Perspectives on Watson: Healthcare

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWHG7DMLurE&feature=channel  


Video
Perspectives on Watson: Finance

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IV6mfWWMIVg&NR=1  


Video
IBM Watson: The Face of Watson

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIKM732oEek&feature=channel  


Video
Perspectives on Watson - Ambiguity

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_429UIzN1JM&feature  


Video
Perspectives on Watson - I Want The Answer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PqaTxLEc-Y&feature  


Video
Perspectives on Watson - Witness to History

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=A-JkZnA5f8M  

In an historic event, in February 2011 IBM’s Watson computer competed on Jeopardy! against the TV quiz show’s two biggest all-time champions. Watson is a computer running software called Deep QA, developed by IBM Research. While the grand challenge driving the project was to win on Jeopardy!, the broader goal of Watson was to create a new generation of technology that can find answers in unstructured data more effectively than standard search technology. Courtesy of IBM

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