What Exactly is Watson?

When conversation with my non-data scientist friends turns to AI it's almost inevitable that at least one will remark on the wonders of Watson. To many of the uninformed, Watson is synonymous with AI and clearly it's already here. So without getting so technical that their eyes glaze over, and that can happen pretty fast, here's a little bit of explanation you can use if you're caught in the same circumstance. The Watson that lives in the imagination of so many folks is the Watson that won the widely televised contest on Jeopardy in 2011. Fewer people are aware that the month following its televised debut, Watson went to Washington and played an untelevised set of matches against members of the House of Representatives where it also won.