IBM puts Watson to work on cancer with new patient-advisor tool

IBM is developing a new weapon in the battle against cancer that will put Watson to work in a new way. Partnering with the American Cancer Society, IBM is building a virtual advisor that uses machine learning to give patients personalized information and advice. The advisor will begin by looking at the type of cancer the patient is suffering from, the stage of the disease and the treatments administered so far. Using that and other data, it will try to offer care advice and answer patients' questions. Watson's voice recognition and natural language processing will enable users to ask questions and receive audible responses.