The Watson team, consisting of nearly a thousand people worldwide, has been working with companies in fields as diverse as retail, travel and finance, to develop customized apps all powered by a unique brand of artificial intelligence.

Robin Grosset, an IBM Distinguished Engineer and Watson analytics specialist based in Ottawa, says the public can expect to see what the technology is truly capable of as it gradually filters down into public settings.

Some people may see Watson as an equivalent to Apple's personal assistant technology Siri, which can perform search functions based on commands given in natural language.

Grosset explains that Watson's power lies in the ability to learn from its interactions with humans and make intelligent connections based on the information in its database.

"Don't think of it like a search engine," he cautioned. "It's actually able to perform reasoning over a body of information. It's able to find relevance in complexity. A needle in a haystack is sometimes the way we describe it."

The core of Watson's reasoning power is the database of relevant information that it's given to mine.

Grosset explained that companies are able to choose the information that's relevant to their own fields and fill databases accordingly.

A retail store, for instance, could develop a Watson-based app loaded with information about the merchandise they offer, the materials they're made of and the technical specifications of those materials.

Grosset said that app could then be used to help customers make more informed purchases.

"There are sometimes a lot of choices available to people as they're purchasing things," he said. "And there can be technical points as well where the purchaser needs to figure out, 'what's the best backpack if I'm going to the Himalayas, and I'm going to be in -25 centigrade, and I need a 35-litre capacity?'"

That exact function is at the heart of one of the many projects being unveiled on Wednesday.

Other applications include an Australian university using Watson to help students get acquainted with its programs, a U.S.-based travel adviser using Watson to help clients plan their trips, and a Thai cancer treatment centre using the technology to help advise its medical staff.

LifeLearn's app, dubbed Sofie after the Greek word for wisdom, will perform a similar function in veterinary clinics.

Stephenson said the app will initially only be used to search for different treatment options based on a pre-existing diagnosis, but hopes it can eventually serve as a diagnostic tool as well.

He said the app, designed to run on tablets, mobile phones and computers, is meant to enhance rather than replace the care provided by real-life doctors.

"It's up to the vet to use their cognitive skills to decide which is the absolute best option for that patient, because so many things affect it like cost of treatment, the actual patients themselves and what they're able to tolerate, the amount of time to treat it, the owners' expectations, etc.," he said.

LifeLearn's Sofie app is currently in beta-testing with a handful of clients, including operations in Alberta and Ontario.

Stephenson said clients may be able to see the technology at work in local vet clinics as early as next year.

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