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1. Thoroughly enjoyable
   With a quarter century at IBM and decades of watching Jeopardy, it was still enjoyable to read of the challenges in bringing Watson to the screen.

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2. As others said, a little too much story
   I got this book because I am intrigued with Jeopardy (my best friend was a participant in the show before) and I love computers. When I first heard about Watson, I was very interested in what they were doing. I thought this book would be the perfect source to learn more.It is written fantastically and is fun to read, but it does not go into the technology too much, which is what I was looking for. Still, I enjoyed reading and learning. I had no idea how many problems there were with both the technology and the business aspect of the program. The book goes into the areas of logic and AI as well, and gives some history of IBM and its chess-playing computer of the past.Anyone who’s looking for a nice, easy read should take a look at this book. Techies: It probably won’t fill your needs in terms of describing the technology, but it’s still fun to read. There isn’t any other source as complete as this on Watson. Take a look!

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3. a must read, a fascinating read, and an easy read – all in one!`
   Just an incredible look at the complex world of artificial intelligence, and how hard it is to get a computer to really “think” on its own. Along the way we get insights into what kind of intelligence the future will require from humans once machines like Watson become more commonplace, doing some kinds of “thinking” for us (like calculators replaced sliderules … what’s next?). It’s all rolled into a fabulous tale that plays out like a sports book recounting a championship season.We won’t know if Watson won till Feb 14-16 but if you read this book you’ll know what went into the match. As a bonus, this is one of the best uses of ebooks and Kindles ever — buy the Kindle edition now and get the final chapter (an analysis of the match) as soon as its over FREE!You will NOT be disappointed in this great and fascinating book! The answer is “Final Jeopardy, Man vs Machine.” The question is “What’s the best book on computers and science you’ll love reading this year!”

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4. Final Jeopardy and What it Means to be Human
   The excitement about IBM’s computer, Watson, and its appearance on the Jeopardy! game show rose to a feverish pitch as the man versus machine drama played out on television earlier this week. The machine won–by no means a foregone conclusion. The episode proved that a small team of highly-motivated geniuses backed by an ambitious, deep-pocketed corporation can create a machine capable of beating the most expert of humans at a sophisticated mental game. It is truly a remarkable moment in the history of computer science and innovation.Yet in Stephen Baker’s book about the contest, Final Jeopardy: Man vs. Machine and the Quest to Know Everything, the most interesting questions are not about machines but about humans. This is intentional. On page 18, Baker writes that, whether the computer won or lost, it is his hope that it “might lead millions of spectators to reflect on the nature, and probe the potential, of their own humanity.”Baker’s book was released on Feb. 17, the day after Jeopardy! aired the third and final “Watson” show. I consumed it digitally, reading the first chapters in ebook form before the contest was broadcast and gulping down the last one when it was published immediately afterward. It’s a new day for publishing.Final Jeopardy makes for a captivating read. Baker, who I must divulge is a friend of mine, has a delightful writing and thinking style. He does an artful job of describing complicated technologies and concepts, including artificial intelligence and game theory, and of revealing the strong and colorful personality of the main human protagonist of the drama, Watson project leader David Ferrucci. He has also mastered the art of the put down of smart machines. For example, on page 30, he quips: “In answering these questions, the computer, for all its processing power and memory, resembled nothing so much as a student with serious brain damage.”As Baker follows the development of “Watson” by IBM scientists step by step, he explains that from the beginning this project was not an attempt to create a machine that mimics the workings of the human brain. Rather, it’s an effort to create a tool that’s expert at doing a few difficult things very well. It figures out what’s being asked in a question, quickly searches its vast database of information for potential answers, evaluates its confidence level in the answer it comes up with and activates a mechanism to signal that it’s prepared to answer the question. It also knows when it doesn’t know the answer.Even with such a limited agenda, though, the machine’s success forces us human’s to reconsider our role in the future of the planet. Machines don’t just store information and automate tasks these days. They’re taking over more and more of our thinking tasks. As this happens, what will be left for humans to do?Baker’s conclusion, on the final page of Final Jeopardy: “The solution, from a purely practical point of view, is to fine-tune the mind for the jobs and skills in which the Watsons of the world still struggle: the generation of ideas, concepts, art, and humor.”That’s true. But executing on this strategy will be a struggle for many people. College professors, business consultants, software architects, pop stars and stand-up comedians have little to fear from Watson. But a vast swath of society makes a living doing the kind of knowledge work that smart computers will master. This means many millions of people will have to reinvent themselves–and quickly. This transition will be faster than the agrarian and industrial revolutions.It’s a challenging time for humans. Globalization has turned the world into one large talent pool where everybody competes with everybody else. Broadband communications networks spread information in milliseconds, making it a commodity. Smart machines force people to be smarter. There’s no place to hide–except, for some, in a sort of willful ignorance. Yet that refuge will only be temporary.But it’s also a great time, as Baker’s book illustrates. For people like Ferrucci and his team, the frontiers of science are more welcoming than ever before. And, because the systems of the world are is increasingly instrumented, interconnected and intelligent, there are abundant opportunities to use science and innovation to improve the way the world works. So our species has the potential to reinvent not only ourselves but our planet. Fortunately, as machines get smarter, so can we.[…]

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5. Fun & uniquely informative.
   If you enjoyed seeing Watson on TV or YouTube and want to know more about it, you will definitely like this book. The book is a fun read that explains AI aspects very intuitively while detailing the human drama of developing Watson in a race against time. The author entertains with insider surprises throughout the book, such as IBM’s temporary fear that a hacker in a garage could humiliate IBM by building something comparable to Watson’s Jeopardy abilities.Though Watson’s “secret sauce” of algorithms will remain an IBM secret, the book does a lot to explain the basics of how Watson formulates answers and the potential applications of such technology. As the story unfolds, it shows why a lot of engineering and trial-and-error was required to go from academic research to developing Watson. I also enjoyed seeing formal AI concepts explained very intuitively, such as seeing ontologies likened to “cheat sheets.”Regarding job fears, the author shows that if your job primarily consists of finding and relaying information, such as working in a help center or performing data analysis, then it will become increasingly important to focus on what computers are not able to do, such as creatively generating ideas and theories.For those wanting more technical details about Watson, the bibliography includes this online article by the IBM team: “Building Watson: An Overview of the DeepQA Project.” There is also more info at the author’s blog, finaljeopardy.net.

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6. Stephan baker has done a great job in this book. If you are an NLP/Semantic analysis researcher/professional this is a great book which shows how Watson works (on a theoretical level). It starts with the problems of Question Answering and shows how the PhD’s handled each issue as they came along. It shows how Watson combines Language understanding and Game strategy to win Jeopardy challenge, clearly showing where machines lag when compared to human intelligence.If you have read the other Watson book “Smart Machines” and craved for more insights on Watson (Well I did for sure) you will love this book.Overall the book is very interesting and keeps you connected, chapter after chapter. You feel you are reading a novel while gaining understanding of the system.

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