UT Austin - Portugal Summer Course & MAP-i Thematic Seminar Module

6 - 17 June 2016, Department Computer Science, Faculty of Science, University of Porto

Automated Question and Answer Systems using the IBM Watson System

by Professor Bruce Porter, University of Texas at Austin, CS Department

Course Description: Building a computer program capable of answering questions with human-level competence has been one of the grand challenges of Artificial Intelligence. IBM's Watson system achieved remarkable results. This class will explore the AI methods used in Watson. Topics include: natural language processing, knowledge representation, automated reasoning, machine learning, and information retrieval. Students will work in teams to develop applications that use Watson as a Cloud Service in some novel way. Background in mobile computing and entrepreneurship will help with the project, although not all team members need this background.

In the spirit of a capstone experience, the class will focus on projects and group work that culminates in building a novel application of question answering. Student teams will benefit from drawing on experience from various other classes, including data mining, information retrieval, natural-language processing, mobile computing and entrepreneurship.

Understanding the strengths and limitations of current question-answering technology will be key to a successful application. We will read and discuss research publications on various aspects of the technology, primarily focused on the Watson system.