As part of a MOOC I just finished (Northwestern’s Content Strategy course, in which there was an interview with IBM’s SVP of the Watson Group, Mike Rhodin) that did a great job of showcasing the potential and future of machine learning. The Watson Group is probably most famous for developing the computer that won on Jeopardy! and it is now deploying that technology to push the boundaries of machine learning.
During the interview, Rhodin explained how Watson can read and understand text. As it can understand text, Watson can learn by reading or obtaining additional information that either will confirm or question a hypothesis. In the latter case, it can then seek out additional information to reach the most likely answer, including looking at historical research and results. It will then give a recommendation and confidence level based on all available information, with the supporting evidence and why the evidence is important. Watson will then analyze whether its recommendations were correct, learn from its mistakes, and effectively get smarter (e.g., why when it played Jeopardy! it got stronger as it completed a column).
Rhodin discussed how Watson is currently helping doctors make more accurate diagnoses. The doctor will tell Watson a patient’s symptoms (Watson can understand spoken English), then Watson will compare these symptoms with what it has read and what is in its knowledge base. It will then narrow down the possible causes and present that information to the doctor. Keep in mind that there is so much research being published daily (and even more historical research) that no doctor can stay on top of all of it. Once Watson has narrowed it down to a few possible causes, it will present these to the doctor with the evidence it generated. The doctor can either do their own research or it may trigger a memory of an article they read in the past. Watson has thus helped the doctor reach a diagnose faster, which often helps recovery rates and reduces treatment costs.
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