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Computer Jeopardy! champ Watson enlisted by Wall Street

IBM's Watson computer is going into finance. Citigroup and IBM said Monday they will look into how the famous computer system's technology can improve banking for customers.

Electronic quiz-show champ could help solve banking issues

The Associated Press ·
Jeopardy! contestants Ken Jennings, left, and Brad Rutter, right, look on as the IBM computer Watson beats them to the buzzer to answer questions. Citigroup and IBM want to use Watson to improve banking. (Seth Wenig/Associated Press)

IBM's Watson computer is going into finance.

Citigroup and IBM said Monday they will look into how the famous computer system's technology can improve banking for customers.

Citi said it's hoping to improve the accuracy and speed of making decisions, assessing risk and finding lending opportunities.

In a blog entry, an IBM general manager suggested Watson could eventually help customers decide how much money they needed to retire or whether they should reshuffle their investments.

Watson is best known for defeating the best Jeopardy! players on TV. It's also being used by health insurer WellPoint Inc. to help diagnose medical problems.

In a previous collaboration, IBM and Citi announced in 1954 that IBM's "electronic brain" reduced the time for a cost-benefit analysis to 9.5 minutes from 1,000 man-hours.

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