IBM's Artificial Intelligence Problem, or Why Watson Can't Get a Job

What if we built a super-smart artificial brain and no one cared? IBM is facing that possibility. According to the Wall Street Journal, the company is having a hard time making money off of its Jeopardy-winning supercomputer, Watson. The company has always claimed that Watson was more than a publicity stunt, that it had revolutionary real-world applications in health care, investing, and other realms. IBM Chief Executive Officer Virginia Rometty has promised that Watson will generate $10 billion in annual revenue within 10 years, but according to the Journal, as of last October Watson was far behind projections, only bringing in $100 million.

The Journal article focuses on difficulties and costs in “training” Watson to master the particulars of various businesses—at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, at Citigroup, at the health insurer WellPoint. But there may also be another issue: the sort of intelligence Watson possesses might not be a particularly good fit for some of the jobs IBM is looking at.