There may be hope for the human race after all.
New Jersey Rep. Rush Holt, who also happens to be a rocket scientist, defeated IBM's supercomputer Watson in a round of Jeopardy! in Washington DC last night.
“I played a full round against @IBMWatson tonight and was proud to hold my own: the final tally was Holt $8,600, Watson $6,200,” the Democrat who represents parts of Monmouth and Middlesex counties tweeted.
Holt, a former five-time Jeopardy! champ himself, was modest and self-effacing prior to the match against Watson who soundly beat Jeopardy! wunderkind Ken Jennings and fellow champ Brad Rutterwith a combined two-day total of $77,147.
Jennings came in second with $24,000 and Rutter third with $21,600.
"Tonight I get to play Jeopardy! against the colossus Watson," Holt tweeted yesterday. "Fortunately it's just for fun & my humiliation will not be televised."
Holt was not trash-talking IBM's supercomputer when he compared it to an Atari: "Although Watson was just a little Atari when I was on the show 3 decades ago, he's grown up & I'm slower than I was then. I watch in awe."
The Connecticut Congressman who played against Watson and Holt was happy to place third in the competition.
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"Ok. So I came in third behind Rush Holt (nuclear physicist) and @ibmWatson (supercomputer) but beat all the other humans," Rep Jim Hines tweeted. "I'll take that."
