EMERGING TECH
EMERGING TECH
EMERGING TECH
Google will pit AlphaGo against the world’s top Go player in May
DeepMind Technologies Inc.’s AlphaGo became a poster child for the recent artificial intelligence revolution after it won string of victories against some of the world’s top Go players. Next month DeepMind’s AI will have yet another chance to prove its worth when it takes on Ke Jie, the reigning Go world champion.
In May, DeepMind will participate in The Future of Go Summit, a multiday Go tournament put together by Alphabet Inc., the Google Inc. parent that also owns DeepMind, and the Chinese Go Association.
In addition to playing against world champion Ke Jie, AlphaGo will also take part in several other events that will test the AI in new ways. For example, in one team-based competition event, two human players will face off against one another while each is supported by a separate instance of AlphaGo. The human players will alternate with their AlphaGo partner every other turn, which will showcase how effective the AI is at reevaluating the board when it is not in full control of move choices.
In another event, five human players will team up in an attempt to defeat AlphaGo, which so far has proved to be an unstoppable juggernaut. Aside from defeating some of the best players in the world, Google also pitted AlphaGo against the collective might of the Internet by having the AI secretly compete in an online Go community.
What makes AlphaGo so strong?
In a recent blog post, DeepMind software engineer Lucas Baker and professional Go player Fan Hui explained that AlphaGo’s success is partly because it treats each game as an entirely new challenge.
“AlphaGo’s greatest strength is not any one move or sequence, but rather the unique perspective that it brings to every game,” said Baker and Hui. “While Go style is difficult to encapsulate, one could say that AlphaGo’s strategy embodies a spirit of flexibility and open-mindedness: a lack of preconceptions that allows it to find the most effective line of play.”
Baker and Hui also noted that AlphaGo is an expert at taking calculated risks, saying that the AI “relinquishes influence freely when it can be effectively mitigated.” Last year, professional Go player Myungwan Kim said that AlphaGo “doesn’t know fear,” which he said gives the AI a powerful advantage over human players, who might not be bold enough to make certain moves.
Photo: ReillyButler 122.365 Zen via photopin (license)
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