Google: It's a Go!

Ready, set...  Go!       (Photo by Goban 1)

It’s a bleak day in the neighborhood for those who like to believe that computers will never overtake humans.

The Chinese game of Go, long considered to be invincible against artificial intelligence, has now succumbed to the wiles of Google.

The New York Times reports that DeepMind’s AlphaGo had it out with the South Korean Go master Lee Se-dol, and let’s just say that the human wasn’t smiling.

After three and a half hours of valiant effort, Mr. Lee admitted defeat before “tens of thousands” of YouTube viewers.  He later confessed:  I didn’t know that AlphaGo would play such a perfect Go.

Thus proving that what we don’t know can hurt us…  This time it was just a blow to the ego.  Next time it might be a blow to the planet.

For those who think of robots as mechanical slaves, think again (before being out-thunk, once and for all).

Resources

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/10/world/asia/google-alphago-lee-se-dol.html?_r=0 

Copyright March 11, 2016 by Linda Van Slyke   All Rights Reserved