Well, it WAS a tie.

After opening tied at $5,000 with Brad Rutter, IBM’s Watson supercomputer exploded, answering question after question correctly, and opening a massive lead over “Jeopardy!” human heroes, Rutter and Ken Jennings.

The sheer depth of knowledge and analytical ability of the supercomputer was on display in Double Jeopardy, as Watson processed answers quickly and correctly.

At the end of Double Jeopardy, Watson had $36,681. Rutter had $5,400, and Jennings lagged with $2,400.

In Final Jeopardy, the correct response was Chicago. Jennings doubled up to $4,800, Rutter got up to $10,400, and Watson, answering incorrectly, but only wagered $947, drawing “ooo’s” and “ahh’s” from the audience.

After one round, with another match coming tomorrow, Watson has shown he is a formidable match for the best humans in the game.

About The Author

John Guilfoil is the editor-in-chief of Blast: Boston's Online Magazine and the Blast Magazine Network. He can be reached at [email protected]. Tweet @johnguilfoil.

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