Matt Ginsberg, a computer scientist in Oregon, has created a computer program, called Dr. Fill, that will be unofficially competing in this year’s American Crossword Puzzle Tournament. Not surprisingly, Dr. Fill is being compared to Watson, the computer that beat Ken Jennings at Jeopardy. Though, the truth is that comparing Dr. Fill to Watson is a bit like comparing a flea to an elephant. While a whole team of scientists built Watson, Dr. Fill is the brain child of Ginsberg alone. It makes the whole thing more interesting, in my opinion. It could really show how far technology has come, if the computer program that could win the ACPT can we run on most laptops. That said, Ginsburg isn’t predicting a win. The article says he’s guessing 20th place is more likely. It will be interesting to see what happens.
