News for hackers. Stuff that matters.
Re:IBM is not doing "cognitive computing" with Watson (2016) by ryandrake on Monday April 30, 2018 @12:39PM (#16960067)
This is Marketing 101 though. It's easier to sell someone a dream or some emotional state than it is to sell an actual product/thing that you have. I'd give people a little more credit. Adults know what advertisements are and that they're all phony.
Re:IBM is not doing "cognitive computing" with Watson (2016) by ChuckMcM on Monday April 30, 2018 @12:57PM (#16960233)
I don't disagree, although I'd be a bit more nuanced than that. It is like herbal supplements, you can say how great they make you feel but you have to avoid making medical claims that you can't back up.

I don't think anyone would have flinched at setting the stage like "At IBM we're working on technology so that some day your interaction with a computer can be as simple as sitting down and having a conversation."

Setting expectations you cannot meet is something you try to avoid in Marketing. Because you get angry op eds like the one that kicked off this conversation.

Re:IBM is not doing "cognitive computing" with Watson (2016) by reaperducer on Monday April 30, 2018 @02:04PM (#16960811)
>I don't think anyone would have flinched at setting the stage like "At IBM we're working on technology so that some day your interaction with a computer can be as simple as sitting down and having a conversation."

Like those old AT&T commercials (available on YouTube) where AT&T made all kinds of predictions about the future that seemed crazy in the 1980's, but are reality 35 years later. Video calls, instant electronic toll booth payment, etc...

/ R.I.P, AT&T.

Re:IBM is not doing "cognitive computing" with Watson (2016) by briffle on Monday April 30, 2018 @12:45PM (#16960123)
IE, unlimited data plans where unlimited is defined as de-prioritized after X GB per billing month.
Re:IBM is not doing "cognitive computing" with Watson (2016) by mkirklions on Monday April 30, 2018 @02:44PM (#16961134)
I hate tmobile for this reason.

Totally crap, especially since tmobile runs ads that have pink background and 1 word on the screen:

UNLIMITED

No. Its not unlimited. I know because I paid 25 extra dollars for a month for their international plan. Truly unlimited.

Re:IBM is not doing "cognitive computing" with Watson (2016) by sgt101 on Monday April 30, 2018 @04:51PM (#16962207)
A lot of non-technical decision makers don't think this is phony and are making life very difficult for engineers in their companies we will all remember this though. For the future.