It has been quite an eventful week for AlphaGo as there were both highs and lows to be noted. The highs come in the form of beating the reigning Go champion without any problems whatsoever. Unfortunately, the AI solution has now officially retired from competitive Go as well. It is unclear what the AI solution will focus on next.
AlphaGo Scores A Big Win And Retires
A lot of people have been keeping an eye on AlphaGo as Google’s AI solutions have been making quite a few headlines over the past year. This artificial intelligence solution is designed to play the Go game, and eventually beat the reigning world champion. While that seemed like a ludicrous idea at first, the concept has proven to be far more viable than people gave it credit for.
To be more specific, AlphaGo duked it out with Ke Jie, the world champion of Go. Interestingly enough, the AI beat Ke Jie in three consecutive games, indicating the games were rather one-sided. However, one always has to go out on a high, and that is exactly what will happen to AlphaGo. Effective immediately the AI will no longer compete in any more professional Go games.
A lot of people will be surprised and disappointed by this decision, although it makes a lot of sense. There is no new goal for AlphaGo to achieve, as beating the reigning world champion in a clean 3-0 victory is the pinnacle of what the AI set to achieve. The artificial intelligence has had a very good run playing against top-notch Go players and only lost one game to a major competitor. That in itself is quite impressive.
The good news is how the research team behind AlphaGo will not retire by any means. Instead, they will work on developing new and advanced algorithms to help scientists in all areas. Finding cures for diseases, inventing new materials and reducing energy consumption are just some of the examples. Artificial intelligence systems are here to stay, but there is still a lot of work to be done before they will be considered a viable addition to scientific research.
It is evident the legacy AlphaGo leaves behind will not be forgotten anytime soon. People will never look at the Chinese game of Go in the same manner as they did a few years ago. An AI solution powerful enough to make legends and world champions rethink their entire strategy is not something to be taken lightly. DeepMind will release all of the data associated with AlphaGo’s 50 games so the Go community can learn from it.
No one can deny artificial intelligence will be wildly successful in the future. It is crystal clear AI solutions can adapt better than human counterparts can, at least in very specific situations. However, one should never look at AlphaGo as a competitor for human gamers, as it is merely a tool to inspire others around the world to play better and discover new strategies.
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