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Feb. 18 at 2:24 p.m.
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Filed under: Computers, Entertainment, Philanthropy, TV, Technology

U. of C. to get some of Watson’s ‘Jeopardy!’ prize

By Wailin Wong

IBM supercomputer Watson takes on "Jeopardy!" champs Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter. (IBM photo)

IBM’s supercomputer, Watson, may have trounced the last hope for humanity when it beat two “Jeopardy!” champions in a three-night contest this week, but it has also extended a philanthropic helping hand to mere mortals.

IBM is allocating $500,000 of Watson’s $1 million winnings to World Community Grid, a project where volunteer PCs users make up a “virtual supercomputer” that helps scientists with research projects. The grid harnesses the spare computational power of 1.7 million PCs from 535,000 volunteers in 80 countries, putting this combined capability to work on complicated problems. Get the full story »