Can a Computer Make you Coffee?

Computing continues to evolve and so too do the ways in which it is applied to solving problems. Cognitive computing is an attempt to model computing around how humans learn, process information, and adapt to their environment. A solution that utilizes the cognitive computing method will pave the way for greater accuracy when asking a computer questions, gathering data for decision-making, or advancing the use of analytics.

Cognitive computing is a different approach to how computers process information.  Instead of responding to inputs based on programmed rules, a computer based on the cognitive computing approach will respond based on what it has learned from earlier iterations. There are considerable efforts underway to develop this new approach with DARPA’s SyNAPSE program and academic institutions such as MIT and Georgia Tech working on the technology. In the commercial realm, IBM, Cray, and Google have been working on cognitive computing technology, but IBM has been one of the most successful at deploying it through Watson. Watson has been successfully used in the healthcare industry and is now entering the self-service customer service industry. Watson is just getting started.