In May 2010, a symposium was held at the University of Pittsburgh to address the question, "What is Watson?" The symposium brought together experts from various fields, including computer science, artificial intelligence, and cognitive science, to discuss the nature of Watson and its potential impact on society.

The following is a summary of some of the key points that emerged from the symposium:

* Watson is a cognitive computing system that uses natural language processing, machine learning, and other advanced techniques to understand and respond to human language.

* Watson is not a simple question-answering machine. It is designed to engage in open-ended conversations with people and to learn from its interactions with them.

* Watson has the potential to revolutionize the way we interact with computers and to change the way we live our lives. It could be used for a variety of purposes, such as:

* Providing personalized medical advice

* Helping students learn

* Translating languages

* Providing customer service

* The development of Watson is a major milestone in the history of artificial intelligence. It represents a significant step towards the creation of truly intelligent machines.

The symposium concluded with a call for continued research and development on cognitive computing systems like Watson. The participants agreed that these systems have the potential to make a major positive impact on the world, but they also recognized the need to address the ethical and social implications of their development.