I once thought I had a sure-fire way to make games between humans and computers fairer. Start with a large set of chess-like games that use different boards, different pieces, different rules. Enumerate the games so that each one corresponds to a n-digit binary numeral (for large n). Then make a "super game" in which the players start by creating a n digit binary numeral by taking turns in which they can specify one of the n binary digits. The super game would continue by playing the chess-like game that corresponds to the created number.
In a super game between a human and a computer, the computer would not have access to all the insights into the nature of chess that humans have established over hundreds of years of playing chess and which chess playing computers use to defeat humans. Of course, the human player would also be deprived of all the years of research into chess, but humans can use their marvelous intuition to figure out a reasonable set of strategies even for a game they haven't studied before. The computer, without a reasonable set of strategies, would (I assumed) find little benefit from its massive computing power. The new AlphaZero game playing computer refutes my idea. ________________________________ From: Friam <friam-boun...@redfish.com> on behalf of Rich Murray <rmfor...@gmail.com> Sent: Monday, December 11, 2017 12:16:26 AM To: Rich Murray Subject: [FRIAM] Google self-evolving AlphaZero artificial intelligence program mastered chess from scratch in 4 hours: Rich Murray 2017.12.10 https://futurism.com/4-hours-googles-ai-mastered-chess-knowledge-history/ Chess isn’t an easy game, by human standards. But for an artificial intelligence powered by a formidable, almost alien mindset, the trivial diversion can be mastered in a few spare hours. In a new paper, Google researchers detail how their latest AI evolution, AlphaZero, developed “superhuman performance” in chess, taking just four hours to learn the rules before obliterating the world champion chess program, Stockfish. In other words, all of humanity’s chess knowledge – and beyond – was absorbed and surpassed by an AI in about as long as it takes to drive from New York City to Washington, DC. After being programmed with only the rules of chess (no strategies), in just four hours AlphaZero had mastered the game to the extent it was able to best the highest-rated chess-playing program Stockfish. In a series of 100 games against Stockfish, AlphaZero won 25 games while playing as white (with first mover advantage), and picked up three games playing as black. The rest of the contests were draws, with Stockfish recording no wins and AlphaZero no losses. [https://ipmcdn.avast.com/images/icons/icon-envelope-tick-round-orange-animated-no-repeat-v1.gif]<https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=icon> Virus-free. www.avast.com<https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=webmail&utm_term=link>
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