Despite being highly sophisticated , IBM 's cognitive system , Watson , has proven difficult to monetise for business applications . However , by breaking it down into 40 different products , the company ’s senior VP and head of research says it ’s now “ the biggest , most important thing I ’ve seen in my life ” and is the fastest growing new business in terms of revenue . Despite its breakthrough ability to understand natural phenomena , critics argue that IBM has n’t succeeded in making Watson useful in a broader setting . However , the company now hopes that Watson will save the fortunes of mankind with its secret weapon : access to large amounts of domain - specific data , which is at the heart of AI and machine learning .
Despite being highly sophisticated, IBM's cognitive system, Watson, has proved challenging to monetise for business applications. However, by breaking it down into 40 different products, the company’s senior VP and head of research says it’s now “the biggest, most important thing I’ve seen in my career” and is the fastest growing new business in terms of revenue. Despite its breakthrough ability to understand natural language, critics argue that IBM hasn’t succeeded in making Watson useful in a broader setting. However, the CEO now hopes that Watson will save the fortunes of IBM with its secret weapon: access to large amounts of industry-specific data, which is at the heart of AI and machine learning.