10 Questions for IBM's Watson

The Avatar
To provide a physical presence for televised games, IBM created an "avatar" of a globe, inspired by their "smarter planet" symbol. During the game, Watson simultaneously received clues as electronic texts while the human competitors saw them visually on the screens. The computer was required to physically press a button as the humans would. Watson's buzzing reflexes were faster than other contestants and as, Ken Jennings noted, "If you are trying to win on the show, the buzzer is all," and that Watson "can knock out a microsecond-precise buzz every single time with little or no variations. Human reflexes can't compete with computer circuits in this regard."