Hope for Mankind? NJ Congressman Beats IBM's Watson at 'Jeopardy!'

CREDIT: Credit: IBM/Jeopardy!

An untelevised 'Jeopardy!' game held last night (Feb. 28) between the IBM Watson supercomputer and Representative Rush Holt, a Democratic Congressman from New Jersey, turned out rather differently than the famous matches of two weeks ago. This time, the human won.

At the final count, Holt had $8,600, while Watson straggled behind with a mere $6,200. That outcome stands in stark contrast to the results from the recent three-day televised competition between Watson and the two biggest 'Jeopardy!' winners of all time, Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter. Watson pounded those two into the ground.

Granted, Rep. Holt is a rocket scientist, and a five-time 'Jeopardy!' champion… but still. The Watson supercomputer isn't yet as omniscient as Hal 9000, and there's hope left for mankind after all.

This article was provided by Life's Little Mysteries, a sister site to LiveScience. Follow Natalie Wolchover on Twitter @nattyover