Watson, the IBM computer that recorded and analyzed millions of pages of data to beat humans in “Jeopardy!,” may be female, judging by how IBM CEO Ginni Rometty reacted to a question from an audience member after giving a speech last night.

McKinsey & Co.’s Rik Kirkland asked:

“I want to hear more about Watson. Watson is no longer the world’s most famous game-playing computer, you’ve put him to work. What are you learning from his, or its — “

Rometty interjected:

“Her? Her? Her?”

Kirkland then corrected himself:

“– Exactly, her. What are you learning from her early experiences in the workplace?”

Watch the video of this exchange, which is at 48 minutes, 28 seconds.

Original post is Is IBM’s Watson a Woman? by Tech Blog.

Courtesy John Day via IBM

IBM’s Watson computer system came up with its recipe for Spanish crescents based on academic research.

Attendees of IBM’s investor meeting today noshed on Spanish almond crescents, Australian grilled asparagus and veal croquettes crafted by perhaps the most overqualified chef in the world.

The meal was designed by Watson, the artificial-intelligence computer system that outwitted “Jeopardy!” champions in 2011 and is now trying to treat cancer. Showoff.

Novel recipes, compiled through analyses of academic material, aren’t likely to be a big moneymaker for the world’s largest computer-services provider. IBM’s haute cuisine was meant to show how Watson’s data-driven approach can be applied to other fields.

Watson has competition in the kitchen. One startup, Food Genius, tracks menu items and their popularity to analyze successful flavor combinations for the restaurant industry.

For the Spanish crescent served at the meeting in IBM’s San Jose, California-based research lab, Watson analyzed chemical compounds and data on human preferences to come up with a dish that combined saffron, pepper, honey and chocolate. IBM collaborated with chefs at the Institute of Culinary Education, who provided textbooks and journal articles for Watson to ingest.

But Watson isn’t well versed at working a mixer. The meal was cooked by a human.

Fear not, Emeril Lagasse. There will still be a job for you.

Original post is IBM Uses Investors as Guinea Pigs for Computer-Designed Meal by Tech Blog.

In fact, this segment of the workforce is so poorly understood that many common assumptions about them are simply wrong, he said.

Simkoff should know. His service, which helps companies manage their global workforces, has information on 984,000 hourly workers from its 20 large customers, including Xerox.

The six-year-old San Francisco company crunches data from a variety of sources, including online background checks on new employees, time and attendance-tracking software, and performance-ranking programs, such as those that measure the number of phone calls a support representative can handle per hour.

Based on that information, here are some myths about hourly workers that don’t hold true, according to Evolv:

Myth: During the recession and slow growth of recent years, few hourly workers change jobs once they get one.

Fact: In the past three years, 36 percent of employees change jobs within the first 90 days.

Myth: You should never hire anyone with a criminal record.

Fact: People who have been convicted of a misdemeanor or a felony — a group that comprises 13 percent of Evolv’s database of hourly workers  — performed just as well as those with clean records in handling customer support phone calls. In fact, they performed 1 to 2 percent better.

Myth: All hourly workers generally perform at about the same level.

Fact: Judging by a range of metrics, the best-performing employees were 60 percent more productive than the worst.

Myth: Experience matters.

Fact: Workers with previous job-relevant work experience were no more successful than those without experience.

Myth: There’s no difference between two equally qualified job candidates, even if one was referred by another employee.

Fact: Employees referred by other employees were about 20 percent less likely to quit than non-referred employees.

Original post is Don’t Hire Ex-Cons? Myths About Hourly Workers That Don’t Hold True by Tech Blog.