Watson, IBM’s cognitive computer system, has been fairly quiet of late after taking on game show contestants, the medical profession and customer service but that doesn’t mean that the AI system has been idle.
IBM is going to be putting Watson into the cloud, according to a report from PC World which says that the company is gearing up to allow third parties access to the cognitive computing system. The first of these initiatives, which will be limited to start with, is being made by a company called Fluid. Fluid is going to be building a retail assistant that will allow customers to converse with Watson regarding their buying choices.
There will be opportunities for startups and developers to create something around a cloud-based Watson, though Intel has yet to divulge details regarding pricing or how it will function for outside parties.
IBM’s Rob High said “Cognitive systems are different in that they have the ability to simulate human behaviour. For the most part humans have had to adapt to the computer. As we get into cognitive systems we open up the aperture to the computer adapting to the human.”