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China Censored Google's AlphaGo Match Against World's Best Go Player (theguardian.com)

Posted by msmash on from the China-things dept.

DeepMind's board game-playing AI, AlphaGo, may well have won its first game against the Go world number one, Ke Jie, from China -- but most Chinese viewers could not watch the match live. From a report: The Chinese government had issued a censorship notice to broadcasters and online publishers, warning them against livestreaming Tuesday's game, according to China Digital Times, a site that regularly posts such notices in the name of transparency. "Regarding the go match between Ke Jie and AlphaGo, no website, without exception, may carry a livestream," the notice read. "If one has been announced in advance, please immediately withdraw it." The ban did not just cover video footage: outlets were banned from covering the match live in any way, including text commentary, social media, or push notifications. It appears the government was concerned that 19-year-old Ke, who lost the first of three scheduled games by a razor-thin half-point margin, might have suffered a more damaging defeat that would hurt the national pride of a state which holds Go close to its heart.

6 of 93 comments (clear)

  1. China needs to go by kuzb · · Score: 5, Funny

    Sorry. you guys just made that way too easy!

    --
    BeauHD. Worst editor since kdawson.
    1. Re:China needs to go by ma1wrbu5tr · · Score: 5, Funny

      I guess Beijing didn't want any weiqileaks?

      --
      Why can't we go back to using jumpers to configure slot adapter cards? Why? I say!
    2. Re:China needs to go by MiniMike · · Score: 4, Funny

      Actually archeologists and historians attribute the longevity of the Chinese culture to their early building skills, especially bridges and fences. While mostly known for great walls and fantastic bridges, the early culture especially relished their fence building technology. This started, they theorize, about 6000 years ago when an unknown builder in what would become central China one day went out to a field on his farm, and with primitive tools created the same fence pieces we still use today. Proudly pounding the initial piece into the ground, he stood back and declared: "First post!"

    3. Re:China needs to go by tsqr · · Score: 3, Funny

      With such an elaborate setup for the pun-chline, how did this get modded Interesting instead of Funny?

  2. Er... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    I watched it live on WeChat... do I need to feel worried now?

  3. Citizen, turn yourself in... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    ...to your local Party HQ for sentencing. You are required to provide your own bullet.