IBM bought visibility with its ad campaigns, and it's trying to buy credibility with this sponsorship, but I'll bet you anything that the only part of IBM that MIT will use is the brand. The tech will be open-source tools that IBM didn't produce, and it certainly won't be Watson.
This is one of the many desperate moves that we will see from IBM trying to deliver on the Watson overpromise and all their rocambolesque cognitive computing. AI is a late project (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mythical_Man-Month" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mythical_Man-Month</a>). So adding more manpower (or brainpower) to a late software project only makes it later. Only folks poorly educated on the topic (such as Elon Musk) really believe that Watson-like AI is around the corner.
I use to collaborate with IBM Research. Basically anyone worth a damn eventually goes to Google/FB/MSFT. IBM pays less than half of their competition and doesn't provide a fraction of the resources. Their only appeal is that they have a lower bar for the "research scientist" role, which appeals to a lot of PhDs who may not have enough top publications to their name.
You really have to give IBM credit for their marketing.<p>Then again, it's always going to be this debate of engineers clamoring for better engineering and consultants clamoring for flashier powerpoint decks, animations, and other gimmicks.<p>Good technology (executed with an end-business goal in mind) delivers real value, and that real value is what will sell in perpetuity. Otherwise, you can only go on fooling people for so long...<p>I would be curious to see how the MIT academics play with the IBM consultants / engineers. Would be curious to hear anyone's comment on the inside of this closely connected.
This is super interesting. I know there is much heated discussion here on HN about IBM in terms of the Watson project and some of the claims made vs. reality etc. I am pretty far removed from the trajectory of IBM's AI research, but can only figure a joint effort with MIT will bolster their reputation by association if nothing else.<p>Just finished reading about Facebook and Microsoft launching a joint AI effort not five minutes ago. To those enmeshed in or working in AI research: are these joint efforts a response to Tensorflow and Google?
Got to wonder why MIT would shackle themselves to the albatross that is Watson. Or given Google's antics with think tanks, be willing to take the risk that unfavourable results will be career-limiting.