Finally, a machine that can finish your sentence

Researchers have shown that computer systems can learn the vagaries of language in general ways and then apply what they have learned to a variety of specific tasks

In August, researchers from the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence, a lab based in Seattle, unveiled an English test for computers. It examined whether machines could complete sentences like this one:

On stage, a woman takes a seat at the piano. She
a) sits on a bench as her sister plays with the doll.
b) smiles with someone as the music plays.
c) is in the crowd, watching the dancers.
d) nervously sets her fingers on the keys.

For you, that would be an easy question. But for a computer, it was pretty hard. While humans answered more