Monster Machine Cracks the Game of Go

A computer program has defeated a master of the ancient Chinese game of Go, achieving one of the loftiest of the Grand Challenges of AI at least a decade earlier than anyone had thought possible. The programmers, at Google's Deep Mind laboratory, in London, write in today's issue of Nature that their program AlphaGo defeated Fan Hui, the European Go champion, 5 games to nil, in a match held last October in the company's offices. Earlier, the program had won 494 out of 495 games against the best rival Go programs. AlphaGo's creators now hope to seal their victory at a 5-game match against Lee Se-dol, the best Go player in the world. That match, for a 1 million prize fund, is scheduled to take place in March in Seoul, South Korea.