Congressman to face off against 'Jeopardy!' supercomputer

Rep. Rush Holt (D-N.J.) will challenge the supercomputer "Watson" Monday night when he participates in a bipartisan version of the game show "Jeopardy!"

Holt will join Reps. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), Nan Hayworth (R-N.Y.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.) at the non-televised event, which IBM is hosting in Washington to demonstrate how technology impacts lives.

The congressman, who competed on the trivia game show under original host Arthur Fleming, tweeted:

Tonight I get to play Jeopardy! against the colossus Watson. Fortunately it's just for fun & my humiliation will not be televised

IBM’s supercomputer, nicknamed “Watson,” competed on the trivia game show for three consecutive nights earlier this month. Watson bested all human competitors in what IBM called a demonstration of the computer’s ability to understand the nuances of language and human knowledge.

“Watson was just a little Atari when I was on the show 3 decades ago,” Holt added, referring to the popular 1970s video game system. “[H]e's grown up & I'm slower than I was then. I watch in awe.”

The event is meant to "foster a conversation about how technology can positively impact society,” according to IBM.

-- This post was updated at 4:21 p.m.

---