At the finish, IBM supercomputer and “Jeopardy!” e-nonpareil Watson trounced four members of Congress tonight in a pitched battle of trivia. Only Rep. Rush Holt, a New Jersey Democrat and five-time “Jeopardy!“ winner, bested the machine.

Heckled by the crowd with shouts of “Go humanity,” the artificial intelligence powerhouse beat Reps. Bill Cassidy (R., La.), Jared Polis (D., Colo.), Jim Himes (D., Conn.) and Nan Hayworth (R., N.Y.). Watson is a computer system that can answer questions framed in natural language.

Mr. Himes, gracious in defeat, kissed Watson’s virtual LCD face as he departed the stage.

Mr. Polis, who lost by 15,700 points, was content with his performance, telling Washington Wire, “I avoided humiliation and came behind a supercomputer and a nuclear physicist,” referring to Mr. Holt. Ms. Hayworth attributed her loss to a “slow-clicker”–something Watson didn’t have to worry about.

Watson’s coup de grace of the trivia showdown came with the clue, “Ambrose Bierce described this as ‘a temporary insanity curable by marriage.’”

As Mr. Cassidy and Mr. Holt fumbled, Watson answered, “What is love?”

The contest comes on the heels of Watson’s defeat of “Jeopardy!” champions Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter .