by Annette
24. February 2011
Watching Watson beat the best Jeopardy players calls into question what human knowledge really is and what it means. Are we more than the sum of our mental data sets? What distinguishes human intelligence from the artificial variety?
I take a special joy in watching this victory of machine mind over human because it puts into high relief our best and ultimate function – imagination. Now, more than ever, we realize it is the capacities for epiphany, inspiration and new ideas that make us uniquely human. As Einstein claimed, it was his gift for fantasy more than his talent for absorbing any positive knowledge that was his best thinking. Imagination will continue to make us vital players in the game called Life.
