Siêu máy tính đánh bại các nhà vô địch TV Quiz

Hai nhà vô định chương trình Quiz Show nổi tiếng của Mỹ đã dễ dàng bị đánh bại bởi một máy tính. Cỗ máy IBM, có tên là Watson, đã đánh thắng cả ba vòng đặc biệt của chương trình Jeopardy. Một trong hai nhà vô định bị đánh bại đã từng giữ kỷ lục thắng 74 vòng liên tiếp trong chương trình Jeopardy.

Jeopardy is one of America's oldest and most popular quiz shows. But this time, inside the brightly-lit studio, a contest billed as 'man versus machine' - the programme's producers pitted two of their most successful contestants ever against a computer. Known as Watson, the computer is a giant piece of hardware, equivalent in size to several fridges. And over three programmes, Watson beat his human contenders with ease.

In a split-second, Watson is able to digest the question and try and match it against huge amounts of information it has at its disposal. It very quickly assesses how good a match it thinks it has and buzzes either very quickly, or not so quickly, reflecting how confident it is that it has the right answer.

Watson is also able to notice nuances in language, between say 'bat' the animal and 'bat' used in sports. On a prime-time US TV show with millions of viewers it was great publicity for IBM. But the company says Watson the computer is an IT genius and a breakthrough in computing.

Từ vựng

billed as

publicised or highlighted as

pitted… against

matched with or set up to compete against

human contenders

human opponents or opposition

to digest

to understand and organise

at its disposal

available to use

how good a match

how effective a comparison or answer

buzzes

makes a noise to indicate it has an answer to a question

nuances in language

slight differences in what certain words or phrases mean

an IT genius

something (or someone) highly skilled with gadgets and technology

a breakthrough

a new discovery or something that is groundbreaking