Imagining the future of artificial intelligence Science

Google's Deep Mind software took just 40 days to become the best ever player of the ancient game of Go, and commentators heralded it as a major milestone for deep learning, a field of artificial intelligence (AI). The achievement highlighted how computers equipped with the right algorithms can now quickly teach themselves to achieve a specific goal. This approach, known as unsupervised learning, works well within a well-defined set of parameters, such as a board game. But what about when something unexpected happens, such as a change in the rules of the game? In the work environment, unexpected things happen all the time, limiting the usefulness of today's AI systems.