The holiday shopping season is nearly upon us.
Soon, stores will be packed, supplies will run low on popular gifts and shoppers will wait until the last possible minute to buy the perfect present for their loved ones.
What if there were a way to make sure this ...
"Whooaa. Nothing like waiting 'til the last minute."
"Especially on Christmas Eve."
"Turbo Man, you're mine!!"
... doesn't happen to you?
Enter IBM's Watson supercomputer. Yes, the same AI that won "Jeopardy!" with its cognitive computing abilities.
Now, the CPU is using its "brain" power to research consumer preferences and help reveal which products and brands are likely to sell best this season. And all the information Watson uncovers will be available to you in app form.
In theory, the IBM Watson Trend app would take the guesswork out of gift buying and hopefully get you to the store sooner.
IBM says Watson "uses predictive analytics to forecast if a particular trend is a fleeting fad or will continue to remain strong."
"First, Watson interprets millions of conversations simultaneously. ... So when Cassidy Wapinski, Florida fifth-grader and unicorn enthusiast, first posted: 'OMG!! BEAUTICORN!! SO FANTASY-LICIOUS!! #UNICORNLIFE #MUSTHAVE,' Watson understood."
Now, hopefully you know the person you're buying a gift for better than Watson does. If that's the case, the app still serves as a good way to see which gifts are expected to fly off the shelves.
For instance, Watson Trend says a lot of people are chatting about the Apple Watch right now. The Lego City and Lego Star Wars sets are also likely to be a big hit.
You can see what else Watson says is trending at IBMWatsonTrend.com or by downloading the app from the App Store.
This video includes images by Getty Images.
