Google AI programme beats top-ranked Go player
SHANGHAI: Google’s computer programme AlphaGo beat the world’s top-ranked player in the ancient Chinese board game Go yesterday, re-affirming the arrival of what its developers tout as a ground-breaking new form of artificial intelligence.
AlphaGo took the first encounter in a three-game series against brash 19-year-old Chinese world number one Ke Jie, who before the game called the programme a “cold machine” and vowed never to play it again after this week.
AlphaGo, which was developed by London-based AI company DeepMind Technologies, stunned the Go community a year ago when it trounced South Korean grandmaster Lee Se-Dol four games to one – the first time a computer programme beat a top player in a full contest.
The win over Lee was hailed as a technology landmark, fuelling visions of a brave new world of AI that can not only drive cars and operate “smart homes”, but potentially help mankind figure out some of the most complex scientific, technical, and medical problems.
Ke has alternated between awe and disdain for AlphaGo.
On Monday night, Ke said on China’s Weibo platform that “the advancement of AI has far exceeded our imagination” but added he would never play it again after this week.
“It will always be a cold machine. Compared to humans, I cannot feel its passion and longing for the game of Go,” he said. — AFP