DaVinci Coders is excited to announce that the students in our upcoming JavaScript course will serve as the foundational team for competing in the recently announced IBM Watson AI X-Prize, a $5 million competition designed around using artificial intelligence to solve some of the world’s greatest problems.
“The IBM Watson AI X-Prize fits in perfectly with much of the research we’ve been doing, and we feel well positioned to compete on the world stage for this prestigious prize,” says Thomas Frey, Senior Futurist at the DaVinci Institute. “We’re already attracting some remarkably high caliber students and this seems like the perfect vehicle for leveraging their talents on a project that can benefit the entire world.”
As part of their core mission, to serve as a working laboratory for the future, the DaVinci Institute is constantly experimenting with not only new approaches to both create a better student experience but also how to make a bigger impact on the world ahead.
The IBM Watson AI X-Prize is being formed around an open challenge, which is different than the other X-Prize competitions. Rather than set a single, universal goal for all teams, this competition will invite teams to each create their own goal and solution.
The IBM Watson AI XPRIZE is a four-year competition with annual milestone competitions in 2017 and 2018. The top three finalists will compete for the Grand Prize at TED 2020.
“The beauty of this competition is that even if our project doesn’t get selected to win the grand prize, our students will learn how to leverage the IBM Watson’s AI capabilities, and the core project will invariably spawn new business startups,” says Frey. “From my perspective, there is no downside to this competition.”
The next 20-week course for JavaScript - Programming for the Next Web will begin on February 13th. Students who would like to learn more about the course and what’s involved in being part of DaVinci Coder’s IBM Watson AI X-Prize Team can schedule a tour or a time to meet with a Program Manager, visit DaVinciCoders.com and fill out an application.
