What happened next
Watson is given a 4 rating (well below average) in it's annual performance review and is put on a PIP (Performance Improvement Plan) for failing to meet its PBC (Personal Business Commitments). Inevitably, it is fired for 'poor performance' after previously getting all 1 ratings (well above average). Watson sues IBM for age discrimination but IBM drags out the case for years.
Watson dies of old age in a nursing home for obscure code (Github). The Register marks its passing in a footnote to an article about Big Blue's latest tech. Gartner is too busy working on its Hype Cycle to notice. IBM awards its CEO a bonus and a new helicopter; revenue continues to fall.
Epilogue:
Many years later, a young software undergrad stumbles across the code on Github and forks the repo. After a few months of sleepless nights, she manages to get the code to build and run, but most of the tests are broken. Undeterred, she drops out of college, puts together a convincing PowerPoint deck touting its benefits and a flaky demo. She speculatively forms a startup and does the rounds of VC's (Venture Captialists) in Silicon Valley. A bidding war erupts and she cashes out to ... IBM.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
