In a game that surely managed to make history, a Google computer defeated the famous Go champion, Lee Se-dol. The last encounter for the play between the man and the computer took place on Tuesday. It definitely seems that a computer has been able to master Go, although the board game has become widely known for its unique complexity.
The victory that the computer registered is also considered to be a step forward for artificial intelligence.
However, it definitely raised a lot of questions, as the computer’s challenger, Lee, also revealed after his defeat.
“It made me question human creativity. When I saw AlphaGo’s moves, I wondered whether the Go moves I have known were the right ones,” Lee explained.
“Its style was different, and it was such an unusual experience that it took time for me to adjust,” he went on to say.
Lee explained that although he may be considered to be one of the most experienced and the best Go players, he still has a lot to learn.
“AlphaGo made me realize that I must study Go more,” Lee said.
Lee went on to explain that AlphaGo was definitely much different than any other opponent he ever had.
“It remained unfazed psychologically and stayed focused. In that regard, I don’t think humans can beat it, even though I hesitate to admit that AlphaGo is above humans in Go skills yet,” he concluded.
In the challenge between a human and the computer, AlphaGo won the first three matches.
Interestingly, Lee managed to make a comeback and won the fourth game. His victory showed that Lee was a valid competitor to AlphaGo. The last game, the fifth, was naturally the most expected and interesting one. And it also lasted the longest, no less than five hours.
After losing the first match, Lee claimed that he was actually shocked. The famous Go player revealed that he did not expect to lose. And AlphaGo managed to finally defeat him. However, the fact that Lee still scored a win in front of the computer made the creators of AlphaGo realize that it was not perfect and some things might have to be addressed.
Demis Hassabis, the chief executive of Google DeepMind, claimed that the weaknesses that Lee exposed when it comes to AlphaGo will be addressed by his team in the near future. He also said that the he hoped that this challenge would make more people become interested in Go, which he called the “most profound game humankind has devised.”
Lee is actually one of the people who became more interested in the game now. He claimed that before the challenge, he actually wondered if he still enjoyed playing the game. Now, his enthusiasm for Go has been renewed, Lee said. He has been a professional player of the game since the age of 12. Lee also revealed that he has some “regrets” from the matches, but added that he “could not have enjoyed them more.”
The matches between Lee and AlphaGo have managed to draw a lot of attention. They were actually watched by no less than 100 million people.
