[TinyRedLeaf]

Cross-posting from the Hikaru no Go thread, where this story truly belongs.

This is the tournament that would put the "Hand of God" to the test!


EDIT: And the result is out!

Lee Sedol resigns the first game. It's a win for AlphaGo. (3.33pm Singapore time, 7.33am GMT)



Google artificial intelligence Go battle kicks off in Seoul

Seoul (March 9, Wed): In a landmark battle between man and artificial intelligence (AI), the world champion of the game Go is facing off against a computer.

South Korea's Lee Se-dol is playing Google's AlphaGo programme in the first of a series of five games in Seoul.

In October 2015, AlphaGo beat the European Go champion Fan Hui, an achievement that was not expected for years.

A computer has beaten the world chess champion, but the Chinese game Go is seen as significantly more complex.

The first game between Mr Lee and AlphaGo kicked off at 1pm local time (4am GMT) and is expected to last for several hours.

It is being live broadcast on YouTube.

(Ed's note: Do watch the live stream. The commentary alone is fascinating!)

The two opponents will play a total of five games over the next five days for a prize of about US$1 million.

The five-day battle is being seen as a major test of what scientists and engineers have achieved in the sphere of artificial intelligence.

BBC

Man vs Machine: Who would prevail in the ancient game of Go?

Seoul (March 9, Wed): Who is smarter, man or machine?

The question is being put to the test at the Four Seasons Hotel in Seoul, South Korea, where Google's AI system is challenging the world champion of the game of Go in a five-match tournament this week, starting today, the 9th of March.

The match began at 1pm local time (4am GMT), and it's being live-streamed on the DeepMind YouTube Channel, with commentary in English.

After each match, Google's blog will be updated with the results.

Thirty-three year world champion, Lee Se-dol, has said that he's nervous about the match, as playing against a machine is very different from facing an actual human opponent.

The Google AI, dubbed AlphaGo, made headlines when it defeated the European champion Fan Hui, 5-0, in October 2015.

It was the first time that an artificial intelligence had defeated a human professional, let alone a player of grandmaster rank.

'A victory for humanity'

Unlike chess, Go is a vastly more complex game, with a far larger set of possible moves in every match.

For example, there are 20 possible opening moves in the a game of chess.

In contrast, the first player in Go has as many as 361 possible moves.

As such, emotions play a large role in the game.

Lee himself said the decisions he makes are dependent on the physical reactions of his opponent.

And with a machine, he won't be able to do that.

So Alphabet chairman Eric Schmidt probably struck the right note when he said that any result will be a victory for humanity.

Alphabet is the parent company of Google, which is hoping to apply the artificial intelligence in uses ranging from health care to robotics.

Any win by AlphaGo in this tournament would catapult DeepMind — the Google unit that developed the machine — to the forefront of artificial intelligence research.

But such sentiments aren't likely to take the pressure off Lee, who's effectively playing with his reputation — as well as that of his discipline and his entire species — at stake.


BBC, THE VERGE, TECH REPUBLIC