TV NOVA - Season 38 Episode 13 : Smartest Machine on Earth NOVA - Season 38 Episode 13 : Smartest Machine on Earth 7.008/10 by 131 users Augmenting human intelligence is a lot tougher than it looks, and the promise of "Hal" from 2001: A Space Odyssey is still just a fantasy. But scientists are edging closer with machines like "Watson," an IBM computing system that is gearing up for a first-of-its-kind challenge: taking on human contestants on the game show Jeopardy! With a brain the size of 2,400 home computers and a database of about 10 million documents, will Watson be able to compute its way to victory? Given the complexity of human language, could any computer truly understand it? It remains to be seen if this amalgam of circuits and silicon can really take us closer to the dream of a fully developed artificial intelligence, a truly "conscious" machine. Win or lose, the difficulty of mimicking the human thought process with software is showing artificial-intelligence researchers that there's more than one way to be "intelligent." Details Casts Posters Images Title NOVA - Season 38 Episode 13 : Smartest Machine on Earth Alternative Titles PBS新星Nova, نوا, نووآ, PBS Nova First Air Date 1974-03-03 Last Air Date 2025-09-24 Number of Episodes 1012 Number of Seasons 52 Genres Documentary, Networks PBS, Casts Plot Keywords , Episodes List NOVA Season 38 :Episode 1 Building the Great Cathedrals Building the Great Cathedrals 2010-10-19 PBS' premier science series helps viewers of all ages explore the science behind the headlines. Along the way, NOVA demystifies science and... NOVA Season 38 :Episode 2 Emergency Mine Rescue Emergency Mine Rescue 2010-10-26 PBS' premier science series helps viewers of all ages explore the science behind the headlines. Along the way, NOVA demystifies science and... NOVA Season 38 :Episode 3 Trapped in an Elevator Trapped in an Elevator 2010-11-02 PBS' premier science series helps viewers of all ages explore the science behind the headlines. Along the way, NOVA demystifies science and... NOVA Season 38 :Episode 4 Dogs Decoded Dogs Decoded 2010-11-09 PBS' premier science series helps viewers of all ages explore the science behind the headlines. Along the way, NOVA demystifies science and... NOVA Season 38 :Episode 5 Secrets of Stonehenge Secrets of Stonehenge 2010-11-16 PBS' premier science series helps viewers of all ages explore the science behind the headlines. Along the way, NOVA demystifies science and... NOVA Season 38 :Episode 6 Quest for Solomon's Mines Quest for Solomon's Mines 2010-11-23 PBS' premier science series helps viewers of all ages explore the science behind the headlines. Along the way, NOVA demystifies science and... NOVA Season 38 :Episode 7 Secrets Beneath the Ice Secrets Beneath the Ice 2010-12-28 PBS' premier science series helps viewers of all ages explore the science behind the headlines. Along the way, NOVA demystifies science and... NOVA Season 38 :Episode 8 Deadliest Earthquakes Deadliest Earthquakes 2011-01-11 PBS' premier science series helps viewers of all ages explore the science behind the headlines. Along the way, NOVA demystifies science and... NOVA Season 38 :Episode 9 Making Stuff: Stronger Making Stuff: Stronger 2011-01-19 PBS' premier science series helps viewers of all ages explore the science behind the headlines. Along the way, NOVA demystifies science and... NOVA Season 38 :Episode 10 Making Stuff: Smaller Making Stuff: Smaller 2011-01-26 PBS' premier science series helps viewers of all ages explore the science behind the headlines. Along the way, NOVA demystifies science and... NOVA Season 38 :Episode 11 Making Stuff: Cleaner Making Stuff: Cleaner 2011-02-02 PBS' premier science series helps viewers of all ages explore the science behind the headlines. Along the way, NOVA demystifies science and... NOVA Season 38 :Episode 12 Making Stuff: Smarter Making Stuff: Smarter 2011-02-09 PBS' premier science series helps viewers of all ages explore the science behind the headlines. Along the way, NOVA demystifies science and... NOVA Season 38 :Episode 13 Smartest Machine on Earth Smartest Machine on Earth 2011-02-09 PBS' premier science series helps viewers of all ages explore the science behind the headlines. Along the way, NOVA demystifies science and... NOVA Season 38 :Episode 14 Crash of Flight 447 Crash of Flight 447 2011-02-16 PBS' premier science series helps viewers of all ages explore the science behind the headlines. Along the way, NOVA demystifies science and... NOVA Season 38 :Episode 15 Venom: Nature's Killer Venom: Nature's Killer 2011-02-23 PBS' premier science series helps viewers of all ages explore the science behind the headlines. Along the way, NOVA demystifies science and... NOVA Season 38 :Episode 16 Japan's Killer Quake Japan's Killer Quake 2011-03-30 PBS' premier science series helps viewers of all ages explore the science behind the headlines. Along the way, NOVA demystifies science and... NOVA Season 38 :Episode 17 Power Surge Power Surge 2011-04-20 PBS' premier science series helps viewers of all ages explore the science behind the headlines. Along the way, NOVA demystifies science and... NOVA Season 38 :Episode 18 How Smart Are Animals? How Smart Are Animals? 2011-02-09 PBS' premier science series helps viewers of all ages explore the science behind the headlines. Along the way, NOVA demystifies science and...