Computer Learns To Play Go At Superhuman Levels 'Without Human Knowledge'

According to the researchers, there are 10 to the power of 170 possible board configurations in Go -- more than the number of atoms in the known universe. According to the researchers, there are 10 to the power of 170 possible board configurations in Go -- more than the number of atoms in the known universe. A year after a computer beat a human world champion in the ancient strategy game of Go, researchers say they have constructed an even stronger version of the program -- one that can teach itself without the benefit of human knowledge. The program, known as AlphaGo Zero, became a Go master in just three days by playing 4.9 million games against itself in quick succession. "In a short space of time, AlphaGo Zero has understood all of the Go knowledge that has been accumulated by humans over thousands of years of playing," lead researcher David Silver of Google's DeepMind lab said in remarks on YouTube.