Watson’s Journey: From Quiz Show Champ to AI Leader in Medicine.

IBM's Watson project, named after IBM founder Thomas J. Watson, began almost exactly 20 years ago with the goal of creating a computer that could compete on the U.S. quiz show Jeopardy! Just seven years later, Watson proved its mettle, beating human contestants thanks to its ability to understand and process language, as well as to reason and learn. Watson's ability to process information and simulate human thinking was groundbreaking at the time of its introduction. Today, IBM's proprietary language models are tailored to the needs of business applications. They contain a wealth of industry-specific knowledge. 

Customized IA

IBM offers Watson as cloud-based services and APIs focused on specific business functions. The APIs available provide building blocks for developers to create custom applications that meet well-defined requirements. This modular offering allows Watson to be deployed without a large up-front investment in hardware or software. However, for smaller organizations, the initial investment in AI can be significant. That is why IBM is pursuing a number of strategies to make Watson more accessible. For example, through Watson Assistant, a conversational AI platform that enables businesses to build and deploy chatbots without extensive AI skills. Pre-built solutions have also been developed for industries such as retail, healthcare and financial services. 

AI yes, but only for the good of society

Those who use AI do so because such systems demonstrate superhuman capabilities in certain areas, such as processing large amounts of data, recognizing patterns, or solving complex mathematical problems. To ensure that these powerful technologies are used for the benefit of society and do not have negative consequences, ethics and governance are critical to AI systems. IBM places a high priority on ethics and governance in the development of its AI. This includes privacy, fairness, transparency and accountability. To that end, an AI Ethics Council has been established to review AI use cases and make the results available to all employees. IBM has also developed tools to ensure that AI systems operate ethically. The company is a member of the Data and Trust Alliance, which aims to establish industry standards. Through these efforts, IBM is working to build trust in AI.

What Watson can do: From healthcare diagnostics...

AI has proven to be particularly promising when it comes to supporting medical staff in diagnosis[i]. By processing a wide range of medical data, including patient records, research documents, and clinical trials, Watson can help find possible diagnoses, suggest treatment options, and even predict the course of disease. The University Hospital in Tübingen, Germany, uses Watson for cancer diagnosis. The AI helps doctors analyze patient data and select the optimal treatment. Watson's ability to process large amounts of data makes it particularly valuable for diagnosing rare diseases, which are often missed by human experts. Watson can also identify potential drug interactions and allergies. Pharmaceutical company Novartis and drugmaker Pfizer are both using Watson in drug discovery. Kantonsspital Basel uses Watson to increase the efficiency of clinical trials.

... to the analysis of customer data...

In addition to healthcare, Watson is now being used in a wide range of industries for a variety of tasks. The Swiss airline Swiss uses Watson to analyze and respond more quickly to customer queries on social media. Technology company Siemens uses Watson in a variety of areas, including manufacturing, to optimize processes and schedule machine maintenance. The system can also perform sentiment analysis, which is extremely useful in customer relations. Hilton Hotels uses Watson to analyze guest reviews and provide better service. Swisscom uses Watson to better understand its customers and generate personalized offers. Watson is also responsible for data mining customer purchase data and personalized product recommendations at Amazon. Coca-Cola uses Watson to optimize marketing campaigns based on customer data. Watson can analyze customer purchasing behavior to develop tailored products and marketing strategies[ii].

... to the detection of fraud

Artificial intelligence can analyze huge amounts of consumer data and draw conclusions from it. This also applies to the collection of data on social media. Nestle, for example, uses Watson to track brand mentions and customer sentiment on social platforms. In human resources, Watson is used to identify potential candidates and evaluate employee performance, including at consumer goods giant Unilever[iii]. The goal is to speed up hiring, optimize employee development, and make HR more efficient. At retail giant Walmart, Watson is being used to optimize supply chain processes and predict demand - so shelves are never empty. Watson is also being used to detect fraud: Swiss banking giant UBS uses Watson for fraud detection, risk management, and customer service. Watson helps analyze complex financial data and mitigate risk. JPMorgan Chase also uses Watson to detect fraudulent activity in real time.

No question: AI pays off

There is no doubt that IBM Watson has enormous potential. Its continued success will depend on IBM's ability to evolve the technology and establish a viable, widely accepted business model. Seamless integration into existing IT infrastructures and the quality of the data provided will be critical. After all, according to Forrester Consulting, Watson has already proven to be a worthwhile investment.[iv]. The AI platform can provide a clear competitive advantage in business. The intuitive development environment also accelerates the time to market for new applications. 

UMB, the strongest IBM partner in Switzerland with over 350 IBM certifications, also uses IBM Watson technology and offers numerous additional AI options in its own digitalization solution. We at UMB know IBM. With our outstanding expertise in IBM hardware, software and services, we can guarantee excellent cooperation. Contact us for more information.
 

[i]   IBM Watson will diagnose heart disease when doctors may have missed it

[ii]   IBM Watson - Business Intelligence, Data Retrieval and Text Mining

[iii]  How IBM wants to use Watson AI to reduce bias in hiring 

[iv] The Total Economic Impact Of IBM Watson Assistant

[v]IBM watsonx — An AI and data platform built for business