I.B.M.’s Watson - Computers Close In on the ‘Paris Hilton’ Problem - NYTimes.com

Concluding paragraphs of a John Markoff AI reality check

Similar design decisions about how machines are used and whether they will enhance or replace human qualities are now being played out in a multitude of ways, and the real value of Watson may ultimately be in forcing society to consider where the line between human and machine should be drawn.

Indeed, for the computer scientist John Seely Brown, machines that are facile at answering questions only serve to obscure what remains fundamentally human.

“The essence of being human involves asking questions, not answering them,” he said.

I.B.M.’s Watson - Computers Close In on the ‘Paris Hilton’ Problem - NYTimes.com