IBM's artificial intelligence machine now debates with humans

Mumbai: If you think that your artificial intelligence (AI)-powered virtual assistant like Apple's Siri, Google Assistant, Samsung's Bixby or Microsoft's Cortana are smart just because they can respond to your "wake" messages and answer your questions, you may want to think again. On 18 June, an artificial intelligence (AI) system engaged in the first ever live, public debates with humans. At an event held at International Business Machines Corp.'s (IBM) Watson West site in San Francisco, a champion debater and IBM's AI system, Project Debater, began by preparing arguments for and against the statement: "We should subsidize space exploration." Both sides then delivered a four-minute opening statement, a four-minute rebuttal, and a two-minute summary. "Just think about that for a moment. An AI system engaged with an expert human debater, listened to her argument, and responded convincingly with its own, unscripted reasoning to persuade an audience to consider its position on a controversial topic," said Arvind Krishna, director at IBM Research, in an 18 June blog.