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Human reaction time to visual stimuli is approximately 150 to 300 ms [1]. I don't know how Watson was configured, but even with the same visual cue I would guess it could press the button in a few milliseconds. That's a massive advantage, enough to win the buzz-in every time both a human and the machine know the answer by the time the light goes on.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reflex

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Only if the contestant waits until the light goes on (what Watson has to do). If the human anticipates the moment the light will go on he can be _much_ faster. Or he can be too fast and get the delay - well, that's the risk.

The whole discussion looks fishy. Yesterday, the consensus seemed to be that Watson was at a disadvantage because of it's build in buzzer delay and the fact that it has to wait for the visual clue. Today, when Watson performed better, the consensus (at the moment) seems to be the opposite. So, the system hasn't changed, but the better Watson performs the more opinions are brought forward why this is an "unfair" contest.

There was no such consensus. I predicted (based on the practice videos that were released) that Watson would excel due to its buzzer reflex advantage. In fact, I never saw any predictions that Watson would have a disadvantage because of its buzzer system.

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