Last year, the supercomputer known as Watson was introduced to the world when it (he?) played three games of Jeopardy against a couple of human champions, kicking their butts and causing lots of people to stop kicking their office photocopiers, so when computers take over the world, the machine overlords will take pity on them.
Watson has been put to good use since then, competing against members of Congress in another Jeopardy match, before retiring from the trivia business, and then going to work at Citigroup (probably as a lobbyist, like most other retired Congresspeople).
So now, Watson is ready for some real work.
As reported by Mashable, Watson is going to help oncologists at Sloan-Kettering in New York by analyzing its extensive database of cancer patients' histories, and recommending ideal treatments. The computer's extensive files will look at previous treatment results and current medical literature and then suggest a course of action.
The plan seems to be to hook up Watson to the internet, and allow doctors to access it/him remotely.
I'm not sure it will replace the face-to-face, hands-on subtleties that a real doctor can notice, but it will provide another perspective to the medical team (ideally).
Nice, soothing voice on Watson, but it's nothing compared to my nurse Sue when she checked in on me during Rituxan infusions....
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