Not The Turing Test

I continue to see bits and specs of what our coming AI overlords are capable of. Most recently, the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence unveiled a system (called “Aristo”) that passed an eighth-grade science test. To which I ask, where was Aristo when I needed it??

According to a report from Cade Metz in The New York Times, Aristo correctly answered more than 90% of the questions on an eighth-grade science test, and more than 80% on a 12th-grade exam. The system was built for multiple-choice tests, and took standard exams designed for students in New York, minus any questions that required pictures or diagrams.

The Times’ piece suggests the new research could lead to systems that carry on a decent conversation, but could also encourage the spread of false information. The backbone of the technology is powered by neural networks that can learn the idiosyncrasies of language by analyzing articles and books (and not entirely dissimilar with what IBM did with Watson on “Jeopardy!” eight years ago.)

At Microsoft, Jingjing Liu and her fellow AI researchers have tried to build a system that can pass the GRE, a test common for admission graduate schools, but the math section has proved “far too challenging.”

Time for a Princeton Review prep course?

Innovate 2011 Conference: Profit From Software

Happy Friday.

I’ve been too busy to keep track of all that’s going on at Big Blue this week, but I did notice some nows out of Warsaw that I thought worth sharing.

The Interdisciplinary Center for Mathematical and Computational Modeling at the University of Warsaw announced earlier this week they will be the first scientific center in Poland to use the IBM Blue Gene/P system.

This supercomputer will be used in scientific research and take on computationally intensive scientific problems described as “major challenges” in areas like meterology, cosmology, materials sciences, and neurominformatics.  You can learn more about this deal here.

I also wanted to plant a reminder before the weekend: Innovate 2011, IBM’s premier event for software and systems innovation, is just around the corner.

To be held June 5-9 in Orlando, Florida, Innovate 2011 is your opportunity for the good folks with IBM Rational to show how you can cut through the complexity of developing smarter products, systems, and software delivery.

You can visit here to get all the skinny on registration.  If you’re looking for those extra special reasons to convince your boss to let you out of the office for a few days, we’ve provided “Top 5 Reasons to Attend.”

Or, go visit the “Rational Talks to You” podcast series to hear from past participants on the topics you’ve told us matter most.

Even IEEE Fellow and UML co-creator, Grady Booch, is in on the action, joining this webcast (attendees for which get $300 off their Innovate 2011 registration) to give us a sneak preview of his Innovate 2011 keynote presentation about IBM’s Jeopardy! champion computer, Watson.

Remember, software is everywhere…but it’s especially at Innovate 2011!