<p>IBM (IBM) wants to see how far it can push machines to act more like humans, and it's starting by giving Watson a chef hat.</p><p>As the four-day South by Southwest music and tech conference kicks off in Austin on Friday, a Watson-operated food truck staffed with award-winning chefs from New York's Institute of Culinary Education will be creating out-of-the-box, exotic dishes for consumption.</p><p>Menu ideas will be generated through suggestions from fans on Twitter (TWTR), and Watson, which will have studied 30,000 different recipes by then, will instantaneously scan six quintillion potential combinations (that's 18 zeros).</p><p>It will do this using just a few inputs decided upon by humans, such as type of food (think soup vs. pie) and cuisine (anywhere from Chinese to Tex-Mex).</p><p><a href="http://www.foxbusiness.com/technology/2014/03/06/why-ibm-is-giving-watson-chef-hat/">Keep reading...</a></p><p>Read also:</p><p><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/cloud/software-as-a-service/ibm-watson-goes-on-silicon-valley-grand-tour/d/d-id/1114153">IBM Watson Goes On Silicon Valley Grand Tour</a> (InformationWeek)</p><p><a href="http://www.thestreet.com/story/12520595/1/why-2014-will-be-crucial-year-in-ibms-history.html">Why 2014 Will Be a Crucial Year in IBM's History</a> (TheStreet.com)</p><p><a href="http://www.itbusinessedge.com/blogs/data-and-telecom/ibms-watson-takes-on-new-roles-in-health-care-and-cooking.html">IBM's Watson Takes on New Roles in Health Care and Cooking</a> (IT Business Edge (blog))</p><p>Explore: <a href="http://news.google.com/news/more?ncl=dbfutTg1CWJOV5MBflv08PcLbyEyM&authuser=0&ned=us">10 additional articles.</a></p>
