A New Benchmark for Artificial Intelligence

By Kirk L. Kroeker

Computers are unable to defeat the world’s best Go players, but that may change with the application of a new strategy that promises to revolutionize artificial intelligence.

In 1997, when IBM’s Deep Blue beat world champion chess player Garry Kasparov in a five-game match, the media heralded the beginning of a new era in artificial intelligence. While the event undeniably marked a noteworthy milestone in the history of computers, and has served as an enduringly fresh metaphor for the possibilities of technology, what became clear in the years following the event is that many classical programming strategies for AI do not work well when applied to more complex applications. One such application that has emerged as a new benchmark for those conducting research in AI is the board game Go.

(This article appeared in CACM, vol. 54, no. 8, August 2011, pp. 13-15.)

(download the PDF)