The SUPERCOMPUTER of Watson is presented by the IBM company

The IBM company presented the SUPERCOMPUTER of Watson which will pass baptism of fire during the American television quiz show of Jeopardy which analog in Russia is the telecast «Game». On Friday, January 21, the Russian office of IBM held presentation of a new SUPERCOMPUTER of Watson which specializes on the analysis of natural human language, and is able to issue answers to very difficult questions quickly.
«Watson shows the real break in understanding the computer of a natural language - real language on which people communicate and communicate, instead of the computer language specially developed or coded for computers», - is told in the company press release.
SUPERCOMPUTER of Watson didn't set up a record on productivity, but unlike other super computers is able to perceive human speech in all its nuances. Now Watson occupies the whole room and consists of 10 server racks of IBM Power 750, but years through 12 such electronic erudite will be located in the ordinary laptop.
The supercomputer of Watson was called in honor of Thomas Watson who headed IBM from 1914 to 1956. At it in 1944 during work on the innovative project the first supercomputer of Mark I representing the programmed arithmometer was created.
SUPERCOMPUTER for games and not only
Practical demonstration of possibilities of the SUPERCOMPUTER will take place on February 14-16 when Watson will take part in Jeopardy television quiz show. Two most successful and well-known participants of a TV show - Ken Jennings and Brad Rugger become the rival of the supercar. The prize fund of a series will make $1,5 million of several games. Trial game already passed, and the supercomputer of IBM proved very not bad.

The SUPERCOMPUTER isn't connected to the Internet, he looks for all questions in own library of data which totals the 15th terabyte (1 Tb = 1000 Gb) information. After that the car analyzes a question context, and also checks a question on existence of a word-play, double sense and other speech receptions. Further the supercomputer of Watson forms hypotheses, analyzes their probability, and on the basis of it makes the decision. On all actions seconds or even shares of seconds leave. The SUPERCOMPUTER is capable to carry out 80 trillion operations a second - 80 терафлопс (1 терафлопс = 1 trillion operations a second, ¹⁰¹²). For comparison: capacity of a human brain - 20 петафлопс or 20 000 trillion operations a second (1 петафлопс = ¹⁰¹⁵ operations in a second).
The supercomputer of Watson is the next stage of development of artificial intelligence after the Deep Blue car which in 1997 beat Harry Kasparov in chess. Anatoly Wasserman who was present on presentation called new creation of IBM «enormous break». According to him, he hardly could win against Watson in an intellectual duel as in insufficient degree knows English. From Anatoly Wasserman's words follows that in Russian to a supercomputer it should «The game» more difficult, under a condition, of course, if Watson knew Russian. In the American Jeopardy questions are calculated only on knowledge while in «The game» questions are calculated and on logic and reflection, so, that the answer could be guessed, at all without owning concrete information.
The supercomputer of IBM makes the diagnosis
In IBM count that the intellectual systems, similar Watson, will find wide application. For example, in the medicine sphere the super computer can quite replace the doctor on the first reception: the patient tells to the automated system the symptoms, and the computer, analyzing the received facts, issues the diagnosis. One more option of application of a supercomputer - the Call-center, or help service when instead of the person questions will be answered by the car. Cost of such system at commercial distribution will make about $1 million.
The marketing director of the Russian producer of supercomputers Elena Churakova told that cars in capacity 80 терафлопс any more aren't the strange phenomenon. «Though, of course, for such car not to find room under a table, it is required separate server, but it is already possible to sell such car for rather reasonable price», - Elena speaks.
The system of recognition of speech of IBM isn't something unique. Within the Russian-Belarusian project on creation of supercomputers "Scythian" similar works were carried out, Churakova tells. It is a question of the order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Belarus for system of recognition of the personality on a voice. Round this project she explains silence as follows: «We in this area always had closed development and widely wasn't advertized. As to supercomputer program development on speech recognition, such development, certainly, should be conducted with active support of the state since they demand the long period of researches before will reach a stage of a commercial product», - the expert makes comments.
As to Russia, our most powerful supercomputer "Lomonosov", is established in the Moscow State University, its capacity 370 терафлопс. In November, 2010 he took the 17th place in a rating of the most productive computers.
Voice search of Google and "Yandex"
Speech recognition can be one of applications of supercomputers. Except producers of super-power computers the search companies are engaged in recognition of speech. For example, the site Wolfram Alpha (symbiosis of the searcher and the encyclopedia) looks for inquiry not on keywords, and answers a question, which user enters into a search line. Thus, the system should analyze language.
Google last year started voice search for mobile devices, however, it is a question of search in keywords, instead of work with questions. «Recognition of speech is one of the hottest trends: already now it is possible to type the text a voice and to "communicate" with household appliances. Therefore it is quite probable that in the future it will be realized on desktop computers», - the head of the Russian press service of Google Alla Zabrovskaya argues.
"Yandex" also develops voice search. «In April, 2010 the alpha version was issued. During its testing we collected and analyzed the inquiries which have been set in different conditions - on the street, at home, in the subway, in the car to improve quality of recognition. After all voice search means use generally out of door», - Elina Staviskaya, the representative "Yandex" told. By means of voice inquiry it will be possible to look for addresses on mobile «Yandex. Cards» or the next hairdressing salon, filling, Sberbank branch or communication salon, as «Yandex. Cards» automatically define location of the user.
SUPERCOMPUTER with possibilities of a human brain
The programming engineer of the Russian laboratory IBM Irina Fedulov argues that will pass slightly more than 10 years before the supercomputer of Watson can be "tired out" in the ordinary laptop. The statistics shows, what exactly so much time is necessary, that that was called as the SUPERCOMPUTER earlier, to find room in the sizes of house system.
According to developers of Watson, one of advantages of the car before the person is lack of emotions. According to Anatoly Wasserman, emotions can play both positive, and a negative role in intellectual work of a brain. «If I disconnected all emotions, would play worse», - Anatoly admitted.
The expert of IBM Irina Fedulov also told that the company sets before itself the ambitious purposes of creation of model of a human brain. Now by means of the computer it is possible to simulate work of only separate subsystems of a brain. In 2011 of IBM plans to present Sequoia supercomputer which capacity will make 20 петафлопс that corresponds to possibilities of a human brain. Nevertheless, that сымитировать work of all brain, more many time is required. According to Irina Fedulova, result it will be possible to wait approximately in 20 years.
Anatoly Wasserman is convinced that while the person doesn't need to worry because of the competition from cars: «It is sure that the following generation of players in intellectual games shouldn't to be afraid of computer rivals», - he declared at press conference.