Why It Matters That Human Poker Pros Are Getting Trounced By an AI

Artificial Intelligence" Texas Hold'em Poker tournament, and a machine named Libratus is trouncing a quartet of professional human players. Should the machine maintain its substantial lead--currently at $701,242--it will be considered a major milestone in the history of AI. Given the early results, it appears that we'll soon be able to add Heads-Up, No-Limit Texas Hold'em poker (HUNL) to the list of games where AI has surpassed the best humans--a growing list that includes Othello, chess, checkers, Jeopardy!, and as we witnessed last year, Go. Unlike chess and Go, however, this popular version of poker involves bluffing, hidden cards, and imperfect information, which machines find notoriously difficult to handle. Computer scientists say HUNL represents the "last frontier" of game solving, signifying a milestone in the development of AI--and an achievement that would represent a major step towards more human-like intelligence. Google's AlphaGo has stomped to victory for a fourth time against Go world champion Lee Sedol. Artificial Intelligence" tournament began on January 11th at Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh.