142 Teams Will Compete for the US$5m IBM Watson AI Xprize

In order for artificial intelligence solutions to evolve over the coming years, some form of competition is needed. IBM Has been thinking along those same lines, as they announced the IBM Watson AI XPrize. In this competition, teams from 22 different countries will put their AI solutions to the test over the next four years.

An Official Competition For AI Solutions

On paper, the concept of the IBM Watson AI Xprize sounds quite promising. With 147 teams competing for the same $5 million prize, things will get quite interesting over the next four years. This particular competition is designed in such a way that all teams can try to solve any problem they want by using an AI.

Do keep in mind there will certain themes in which the artificial intelligence solutions will need to operate. These categories range from Civil Society or Energy and Resources and even Health and Wellness. A lot of eyes will be on the Space and Exploration category as well, as our society is trying to make progress in this regard as well. As long as the posed problems are solved with artificial intelligence, the projects can compete for the $5m price.

The number of teams competing in the IBM Watson AI Xprize was not chosen randomly either. A lot of applications have been sent in regarding the testing and development of AI solutions. Out of these submissions, the 147 teams from 22 different countries have been chosen. For now, all eligible teams will focus on putting together blueprints credible enough to show their initial AI plans will work.

A team of experts and panelists has been put together who will review all of the evidence submitted by the September deadline. Not all of the teams will advance, though, as the panel will determine who moves on to the next round by January of 2018. Further thinning of the herd will occur during additional rounds in 2018 and 2019.

It is evident the IBM Watson AI XPrize is designed to create competitive and groundbreaking AI-based solutions in the coming years. A total of three finalists will present their creation at the TED 2020 conference. It is then up to the live attendees and the online viewers to vote which project deserves to win the prize, in their opinion. It will be quite interesting to see what type of artificial intelligence solutions we can expect by that time, though.

The grand winner will receive US$3m in prize money, whereas the runner-up receives US$1m and the last finalist receives a US$500,00 paycheck. The remainder of the funds will be dispersed as specific milestones are reached by the competing teams throughout 2018 and 2019. It is the first large-scale AI competition of this kind the world has ever seen. Artificial intelligence is on a lot of people’s minds, and things will only get more interesting moving forward.

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