Dr. Ranit Aharonov, manager, left, and Dr. Noam Slonim, right, principal investigator, right, pose for a photo in front of the IBM Project Debater before a debate between the computer and two human debaters Monday, June 18, 2018, in San Francisco. IBM on Monday will pit a computer against two human debaters in the first public demonstration of artificial intelligence technology it's been working on for more than five years. The system, called Project Debater, is designed to be able to listen to an argument, then respond in a natural-sounding way, after pulling in evidence it collects from Wikipedia, journals, newspapers and other sources to make its point. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
Artificial intelligence has proven itself adept at some of humanity’s favourite games, from chess to the much more complex board game Go. Now, a machine developed by IBM is challenging humans to debates about the future of medicine and the value of physical education.
International Business Machines Corp.’s Project Debater faced off in public for the first time Monday, taking on a crack two-person team of humans, which included the 2016 Israeli national debate champion. The robot held its own during two short debates, and at moments, showed more than a little flair. It even convinced people in the audience to change their minds.