Machine excels at calling a bluff

Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) have made history by allowing a machine to beat humans for the first time in poker, the last remaining game in which humans had managed to maintain the upper hand. Reuters reports that Libratus, an AI built by Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) racked up more than $1.7m worth of chips playing against four of the top professional poker players in the world in a 20-day marathon poker tournament in Philadelphia.

Conventional wisdom had it that a computer could not win at poker as it has no capacity to bluff. But AI has made nonsense of that arrogantly human observation. “Developing an AI that can bluff successfully is a tremendous step forward scientifically and has numerous applications. Imagine that your smartphone will someday be able to negotiate the best price on a new car for you. That’s just the beginning,” said Frank Pfenning, head of the Computer Science Department at CMU.

Until AI can help the Insider bluff his way through Johannesburg traffic in that new car, he’s not interested.