IBM's Debating AI Is Here to Convince You That You're Wrong

IBM's Debating AI Is Here to Convince You That You're Wrong
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Artificial intelligence has proven itself adept at some of humanity’s favorite games. Now, according to Bloomberg, a machine developed by IBM is challenging humans to debates about the future of medicine and the value of physical education.

IBM’s Project Debater faced off in public for the first time, taking on a crack two-person team of humans, one of who was 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.

A machine that probes and questions arguments has clear applications. Lawyers could ask it to search thousands of court cases to pull out the most viable arguments, CEOs could put their theses to the test as a way to shore up a presentation to the board about company strategy, and teachers could employ it en masse to help their students develop critical thinking skills without having to have one-on-one sessions with a human.

The machine works by cobbling together multiple algorithms and AI techniques, detailed in academic papers put out by IBM Research over the last several years. Once the computer is told the topic, it scans a database of millions of news and academic articles, using an algorithm to decide which snippets of text are relevant and “argumentative.“

Another algorithm cuts out repetitions. During the debate, a voice recognition system listens to the machine’s opponent, adding another layer where things could go wrong if the robot mishears. Project Debater can make an effort at any argumentative topic, whether it’s been trained on it before or not, researchers said.

During the debate at IBM’s offices in San Francisco, the robot spoke clearly, used correct grammar, generated relevant points and responded to arguments its human opponent made. After laying out its position on telemedicine, the robot changed the minds of nine audience members who had previously not agreed with the notion that society should increase telemedicine’s use.

The IBM project started in 2012, when the robot lacked the urbanity it showed off now. In one early debate on physical education, it kept bringing up sex education, researchers said. Another time, it detoured into the topic of procreation and mentioned that as a robot, it couldn’t have its own children, during a debate about pornography. “Sometimes, it is making a joke at not the right moment,“ said Noam Slonim, a senior researcher on the project.