IBM is testing a computer against two human debaters in the first public demonstration of artificial intelligence technology it's been working on for more than five years. The company unveiled its Project Debater in San Francisco on Monday. The argumentative computer system is embodied in a 5-foot-tall (1.5 meter) machine shaped like a monolith. Asked to debate in favor of government-subsidized space exploration -- a topic it hadn't studied -- the computer quickly delivered an opening argument, pulling in evidence collected from its repository of newspaper articles and journals. It then listened to a human's counter-argument and gave a 4-minute rebuttal.

IBM pitted a computer against two human debaters in the first public demonstration of artificial intelligence technology it's been working on for more than five years. The company unveiled its Project Debater in San Francisco on Monday, asking it to make a case for government-subsidized space research -- a topic it hadn't studied in advance but championed fiercely with just a few awkward gaps in reasoning. "Subsidizing space exploration is like investing in really good tires," argued the computer system, its female voice embodied in a 5-foot-tall machine shaped like a monolith with TV screens on its sides. Such research would enrich the human mind, inspire young people and be a "very sound investment," it said, making it more important even than good roads, schools or health care. The computer delivered its opening argument by pulling in evidence from its huge internal repository of newspapers, journals and other sources.

IBM pitted a computer against two human debaters in the first public demonstration of artificial intelligence technology it's been working on for more than five years. The company unveiled its Project Debater in San Francisco on Monday, asking it to make a case for government-subsidized space research -- a topic it hadn't studied in advance but championed fiercely with just a few awkward gaps in reasoning. "Subsidizing space exploration is like investing in really good tires," argued the computer system, its female voice embodied in a 5-foot-tall machine shaped like a monolith with TV screens on its sides. Such research would enrich the human mind, inspire young people and be a "very sound investment," it said, making it more important even than good roads, schools or health care. The computer delivered its opening argument by pulling in evidence from its huge internal repository of newspapers, journals and other sources.

SAN FRANCISCO – IBM pitted a computer against two human debaters in the first public demonstration of artificial intelligence technology it's been working on for more than five years. The company unveiled its Project Debater in San Francisco on Monday, asking it to make a case for government-subsidized space research -- a topic it hadn't studied in advance but championed fiercely with just a few awkward gaps in reasoning. "Subsidizing space exploration is like investing in really good tires," argued the computer system, its female voice embodied in a 5-foot-tall machine shaped like a monolith with TV screens on its sides. Such research would enrich the human mind, inspire young people and be a "very sound investment," it said, making it more important even than good roads, schools or health care. The computer delivered its opening argument by pulling in evidence from its huge internal repository of newspapers, journals and other sources.

Search engine algorithms used by Google and Microsoft's Bing use similar technology to digest and summarize written content and compose new paragraphs. Voice assistants such as Amazon's Alexa rely on listening comprehension to answer questions posed by people. Google recently demonstrated an eerily human-like voice assistant that can call hair salons or restaurants to make appointments.