A couple of comments: 1. Every completely new technology (and this is truly new) has lots of low hanging fruit to pick which are not obviously at first glance.

A couple of comments: 1. Every completely new technology (and this is truly new) has lots of low hanging fruit to pick which are not obviously at first glance. Jeopardy was a test application and publicity source, but where the real-world applications are, we don't know yet. But it's a safe bet there'll be at least a couple of domains that will be completely revolutionized. 2. The great benefits of AI, like those of computing in general, aren't in AI-only applications. We won't have black box factories any time soon, just as we don't have black box financial systems or medical equipment. The benefits come _always_ from the synergy between human and machine. So the argument that Watson isn't a real AI doesn't hold water (true Scotsman anyone?). It's an awesome tool, with the potential to work with humans closer, better and on a larger scale then what we have now.