Human champion quits in final computer challenge
Print Edition
A COMPUTER program developed by Google yesterday had the last word in its machine versus human challenge with South Korean Go grandmaster Lee Sedol, winning the final game for a sweeping 4-1 series victory.
The win was vindication for AlphaGo’s creators, DeepMind, who had touted the program as a new form of artificial intelligence capable of “intuitive’ thought and with wide-ranging real-world applications.
“I’m kind of speechless, that was the most mind-blowing game experience so far,” said DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis.
“Early on ... it seemed that AlphaGo made quite a big mistake, but in the end it was able to get back into the match for an incredibly close, intense finish,” Hassabis said.
“We’re just kind of stunned really,” he added
A visibly upset Lee was left at the table with his head in his hands, after resigning at the end of a close-fought, five-hour battle with the AlphaGo program.
After Lee had managed to pull one back for humanity in game four, AlphaGo was back on its best destructive form, using its deep neural networks to outwit the 33-year-old in a nerve-wracking end game.
“I started off the match thinking that I had an advantage, but the fact that I was still defeated showed up my shortcomings,” Lee told reporters.
The South Korean, who has 18 international titles under his belt and is widely considered one of the greatest Go players of the modern era, said he felt he had under-performed against a formidable, but beatable opponent.
“I think (AlphaGo) is still at a level that can be challenged by humans and in that sense, like I said earlier, I feel a bit disappointed,” Lee said.
“It is different, there’s no doubt. First of all, it’s not human. It took time for me to get used to its playing style,” Lee said.
“It’s not shaken up psychologically and stays focused right until the end,” he added.
The matches were closely watched by tens of millions of fans of the ancient board game as well as AI scientists.
The most famous AI victory to date came in 1997, when the IBM-developed supercomputer Deep Blue beat the then-world class chess champion Garry Kasparov.
But Go, played for centuries mostly in China, Japan and South Korea, had long remained the holy grail for AI developers due to its complexity and near-infinite number of potential configurations.
AlphaGo uses two sets of neural networks that allow it to crunch data in a more human-like fashion — dumping millions of potential moves that human players would instinctively know were pointless.
It also employs algorithms that allow it to learn and improve from experience.
AlphaGo has been awarded the highest Go grandmaster rank, reserved for those whose ability at the ancient board game borders on “divinity”, South Korea’s Go Association said yesterday.
It announced the award before the final game, with the computer holding an unassailable 3-1 advantage.
AlphaGo was given an honorary “ninth dan” professional ranking, equivalent to that held by Lee.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
