This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Just when it looked like the supercomputer would turn "Jeopardy!" into a runaway, the humans came roaring back. Well, the human. And not local favorite Ken Jennings.
After Watson, the IBM super computer, took a commanding lead in the three-night competition of the TV quiz show, Brad Rutter (the all-time leading money winner) made a big comeback to tie the machine.
In an episode heavy on explanations about Watson and how it works — heavy to the point of overwhelming the competition — the computer jumped out to a big lead. At one point, Watson had correctly answered his way to $5,200, leaving Rutter ($1,000) and BYU grad/former Utahn/74-time winnerJennings ($200) in the dust.
But the humans started clicking in and getting questions right, while the computer got a few wrong.
No, it's not infallible.
The three played only the first round of the game in Monday's episode, and Watson and Rutter stood at $5,000 apiece; Jennings trailed with $2,000. And he looked a bit frustrated in spots, apparently unable to beat the machine to click in to answer questions.
Jennings, Rutter and Watson are playing two games over three episodes; the winner claims $1 million. The special "Jeopardy!" episodes continue Tuesday and Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. on KJZZ-Ch. 14.