IBM Watson, X Prize launches a $5 million contest to develop AI apps

IBM Watson X Prize

We know the X Prize Foundation for its Qualcomm Tricorder contest; now it is teaming-up with IBM Watson to launch a $5 million open challenge to develop an AI application that could be focused in the area of healthcare, but could also be aimed at education, energy, environment, global development or exploration.

“The IBM Watson AI X Prize is intended to promote and progress the notion of ‘AI for impact’ among the global bold innovator crowd, both the established community of practitioners, as well as encourage newcomers to experiment and ultimately demonstrate how AI can be used as a tool for good,” Marcus Shingles, CEO of X Prize, said in a statement.

What makes this X Prize contest different from the previous efforts is that it allows participants to define their own goals and focus on solving different problems. According to Amir Banifatemi, X Prize lead for the IBM Watson AI competition, this more autonomous approach allows teams to “define their own challenges and demonstrate their solutions, encouraging myriad problem-solving approaches.”

The IBM Watson AI X Prize will conclude in 2020, and chances are some of the teams will tackle healthcare problems. The $5 million in prize money will be divided between a $3 million grand prize, a $1 million second place prize and a $500,000 third place prize, with the remaining $500,000 being reserved for special accomplishment and milestone prizes. The deadline to apply is December of this year, with detailed project proposals due in March.

[Via: mobihealthnews]