It is amusing and ironic when observers criticize Watson for just doing statistical analysis of language as opposed to possessing the “true” understanding of language that humans have. Hierarchical statistical analysis is exactly what the human brain is doing when it is resolving multiple hypotheses based on statistical inference (and indeed at every level of the neocortical hierarchy). Both Watson and the human brain learn and respond based on a similar approach to hierarchical understanding. In many respects Watson’s knowledge is far more extensive than a human’s; no human can claim to have
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