10 Years After Big Blue Beat Garry Kasparov

Jamie found another MIT Technology review story, this time about Chess, Supercomputing, Garry Kasparov, and trying to make sense of just what exactly it all meant when a computer finally beat a grand master. An interesting piece that touches on what it means to play chess, the difference between humanity and machinery and how super computers don't care when they are losing. Worth your time.

Comments

Re:the supercomputers advantage...

[KDR_11k]

Yes but a human competitor could also play the whole match. The point of the match was supposedly to demonstrate that the computer can perform the task (chess) better than a human but the computer still needed significant human help.

lol

[thatskinnyguy]

I'll bet Big Blue has one hell of a poker face!

Re:lol

[thatskinnyguy]

That's no big news. Riker beat Data all the time in poker!

Obligatory

[D-Cypell]

But what about 'Go'? 'Go' is much harder for computers to play. Let's all talk about 'Go'.

Re:the supercomputers advantage...

[somersault]

IBM's next chess supercomputer, Big Wuss, is rumoured to care when it is losing.

Wouldn't you prefer a nice game of chess?

[TripMaster Monkey]

Later. Later. Right now, let's play Global Thermonuclear War.

Re:the supercomputers advantage...

[Phil246]

I'd be more worried about the "Big Wookie" while its losing...

Re:the supercomputers advantage...

[Anonymous Coward]

But, even an idiot computer can kick my ass at Go :-(

Re:Chess is a bad example of thinking

[Archon-X]

Mine loves to play:

- When Is The Most Irritating Time To Crash

It also enjoys

- Fatal Exception Blocking The Save Function

Re:Chess is so simple

[PacoSuarez]

I tried what you just said:

#include

int main(){
    do {
        std::cout move_that_provides_the_most_possible_ways_of_winni ng() std::endl;
    } while(!check_mate());
}

master_chess_program.cpp: In function 'int main()':
master_chess_program.cpp:5: error: 'move_that_provides_the_most_possible_ways_of_winn ing' was not declared in this scope
master_chess_program.cpp:6: error: 'check_mate' was not declared in this scope

Maybe I am missing some header files?

Fruit Flies!

[SoVeryTired]

"Chess is the Drosophila of artificial intelligence. However, computer chess has developed much as genetics might have if the geneticists had concentrated their efforts starting in 1910 on breeding racing Drosophila. We would have some science, but mainly we would have very fast fruit flies." -John McCarthy

Re:What is "intelligence"

[lawpoop]

Just as long as we have to train a super secret and highly elite team of counter-AI-predator soldiers, and the whole thing finishes as a showdown where the team leader confronts the talking mainframe in an underground secret bunker.

Re:Not scared yet, but...

[Johnny5000]

Your comment made me think of two things.

First: Chessboxing

Also, the quote:
"A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kick boxing."

Re:What is "intelligence"

[The-Bus]

For instance, how do you see a trail as it winds over grassland and leads into the woods? How does one see a year old trail that is partially overgrown, or a new trail not completely tramped down. How do you track down an animal from smattering of scat, nibbles and tracks over rocks, dirt, grassland, and the tree line? How does a human being see a camouflaged predator slinking behind the tree line? How do you read the sky and know what the weather will be later that day? How do you look at a river and know if it's crossable or not? Back at home, how do you play your relatives, friends, and enemies in the tribe so that you are elected leader when the Big Man passes away? Or how do you manage to convince your husband that your new pregnancy is his, and not your secret lovers'? I'm sorry, are you a character on the TV show Lost? Your examples seem to indicate so.