Google AI beats Chinese World Champion in ancient game of Go
Google AI beats Chinese master in ancient game of Go

Chinese Go player Ke Jie puts a stone against Google's
artificial intelligence program AlphaGo during their first match at the Future
of Go Summit in Wuzhen, Zhejiang province, China May 23, 2017. REUTERS/Stringer
By Cate Cadell | BEIJING Tue May 23, 2017 | 5:35am EDT
A Google artificial intelligence program defeated a
Chinese grand master at the ancient board game Go on Tuesday, a major feather
in the cap for the firm's AI ambitions as it looks to woo Beijing to gain
re-entry into the country.
In the first of three planned games in the eastern water
town of Wuzhen, the AlphaGo program held off China's world number one Ke Jie in
front of Chinese officials and Google parent Alphabet's chief executive Eric
Schmidt.
The victory over the world's top player - which many
thought would take decades to achieve - underlines the potential of artificial
intelligence to take on humans at complex tasks.
Wooing Beijing may be less simple. The game streamed live
on Google-owned YouTube, while executives from the DeepMind unit that developed
the program sent out updates live on Twitter. Both are blocked by China, as is
Google search.
Google pulled its search engine from China seven years
ago after it refused to self-censor internet searches, a requirement of Beijing.
Since then it has been inaccessible behind the country's nationwide firewall.
The ceremonial game - the second time AlphaGo has gone
head-to-head with a master Go player in a public showdown - represents a major
bridge-building exercise for Google in China, following a charm offensive in
recent years.
It has announced plans to bring some services back to the
country, including its app store Google Play.
In March it also said Chinese users would be able to
access the Translate mobile app, marking its most recent success launching a
previously banned service. Like AlphaGo, Translate also uses DeepMind's
artificial intelligence software.
Beijing is pushing to become a major player in artificial
intelligence. Chinese search engine giant Baidu Inc, launched an AI lab in
March with China's state planner, the National Development and Reform
Commission.
Go, most popular in countries such as China, South Korea
and Japan, involves two contestants moving black and white stones across a
square grid, aiming to seize the most territory. Its origins date back
thousands of years.
The board game is favored by AI researchers because of
the large number of outcomes compared to other games such as western chess.
According to Google there are more potential positions in a Go game than atoms
in the universe.
AlphaGo made history when it beat a top South Korean
professional player last year.
(Reporting by Cate Cadell; Writing by Adam Jourdan;
Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)
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