Computers are increasingly competing against humans to see whether man or machine is smarter.

In the latest demonstration of artificial intelligence or AI, a computer went up against humans in live, public debates.

The debates – held this week in San Francisco – provided a new example of how computers are fast improving to think and sound more like humans.

The event was a demonstration of an AI system developed by major technology company IBM. It is called Project Debater.

IBM said it was the first time ever that an AI system has competed in a live, public debate with humans. Two separate debates were held between a computer and two human debaters.

The company preselected possible subjects for discussion, but said neither the computer nor the humans knew the chosen subject before the debate.

The discussions were set up in a similar way to most political debates. After preparing arguments, both sides got the chance to present a four-minute opening statement. Then came four-minute rebuttals, followed by closing statements.

In one debate, IBM's computer battled Noa Ovadia, a former national debate champion for Israel. The debate was based on the following statement: "We should subsidize space exploration."

The AI system made a case in favor of government-subsidized space research. The computer was represented at the event as a tall and thin black box, with a small screen in front that changed designs when speaking and listening. It spoke in a female voice.

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