From the US★Bob Dylan converses with AI Watson: IBM's "Cognitive Business" project launches

Ad Age reports that IBM has launched its "Cognitive Business" project, centered around the artificial intelligence system "Watson" developed by the company.

Watson is an AI that not only ingests and analyzes vast amounts of data but also learns and accumulates knowledge with each processing task. It also features natural language understanding, enabling intuitive question-and-answer interactions through conversational dialogue. The idea behind Cognitive Business is to utilize Watson as a tool to support human decision-making across various fields, such as retail and healthcare.

As the first campaign for this project, IBM produced a TV commercial featuring rock legend Bob Dylan. In the ad, Watson—which has reportedly read all of Dylan's lyrics—approaches Dylan and says, "Time passes, love fades—that seems to be your main theme." Dylan responds, "Well, yeah." Their conversation demonstrates Watson's data acquisition, analysis, and language capabilities. (Click the image below to view the video on the official website)

This commercial aired on October 6th as a spot during ESPN's "Monday Night Football." Other versions include Watson conversing with Ken Jennings, the quiz champion who lost to Watson on the American game show "Jeopardy!".

John Iwata, IBM's Vice President of Marketing and Communications, explained that various campaigns will be rolled out over the coming months. "We believe the concept of cognitive business will gain strong support not only from our existing clients but also from companies we currently do not do business with," he stated.

IBM plans to roll out its cognitive business strategy globally. Regarding Japan, IBM Japan announced in February this year a partnership with SoftBank Telecom to develop a Japanese-language version of Watson.

 

Source: Ad Age

Tangled Up in Big Blue: IBM Replaces Smarter Planet With...Bob Dylan