DeepMind's new AI just beat top human pro-gamers at Starcraft II for the first time

DeepMind, a subsidiary of Alphabet that's focused on cracking artificial intelligence, has announced a new landmark in that grand quest: beating humans at galactic warfare. The news: AlphaStar, the company's latest learning algorithm, defeated professional Starcraft II players for the first time, scoring 10 wins and one loss against the pros, called TLO and MaNa. The popular real-time strategy game involves players competing as one of three races to building structures and engaging in combat across a sprawling battlefield. Practice, practice: AlphaStar learned to play within an environment called the AlphaStar League. A large neural network first observed replays of expert human games.