NEXT to focus on IBM’s ‘Watson at Work’

Monday, October 22, 2012

IBM’s revolutionary Watson technology will take center stage when the Belk College of Business hosts events Monday, Oct. 29, and Friday, Nov. 2, as part of the NEXT speaker series.

When it was introduced in 2011, the Watson artificial intelligence system revolutionized technology. Perhaps best known for its appearances on “Jeopardy,” Watson is now being used to transform how organizations think, act and operate in the future. Learning through interactions, it delivers evidence-based responses driving better outcomes.

The Belk College of Business and the College of Computing and Informatics are developing innovative curricula in data science and business analytics, and the NEXT programs will provide an excellent introduction to the key concepts of this transformational technology.

On Monday, Oct. 29, faculty and staff can attend “Watson in Education,” which will provide an overview of IBM Watson programs available to universities to engage students. This event is from 11 a.m. to noon in Friday Building, Room 153, and box lunches will be served. To assist with arrangements, attendees should email RSVPs to belkrsvp@uncc.edu by Wednesday, Oct. 24.

Stephen Gold, worldwide marketing director, for IBM Watson Solutions, will give “An Introduction to Watson at Work” at 2 p.m., Oct. 29, in Cone University Center, McKnight Hall.

The Nov. 2 event is a technical seminar “The Technology Behind Watson.” Chris Wicher, vice president for engineering, IBM Watson, will speak at 3 p.m. in Woodward Hall, Room 106.

More information is on the Belk College website.