It's Computer vs. Human on 'Jeopardy'

A computer will compete against two of the most intelligent human contestants in Jeopardy history in three episode of the game show airing this February.

The computer program has already passed the test human contestants are required to take and has taken part in 50 games against past Jeopardy champions, although the results aren't being disclosed. "We’re thrilled that Jeopardy is considered a benchmark of ultimate knowledge," said the show's executive producer. The winner of the man versus machine matchup will get a $1 million prize.

Watson, the computer, is named after IBM founder Thomas J. Watson, it was built by a team of IBM scientists who set out to accomplish a grand challenge – build a computing system that rivals a human's ability to answer questions posed in natural language with speed, accuracy and confidence. The Jeopardy! format provides the ultimate challenge because the game's clues involve analyzing subtle meaning, irony, riddles, and other complexities in which humans excel and computers traditionally do not.