Computer Beats Human at Japanese Chess For First Time [Takeover]

A computer has beaten a human at shogi , otherwise referred to as Japanese chess, for the first time. Oh dear.

No big deal, you may think. Finally, computers were beating humans at western chess for years, and when IBM’s Deep Blue beat Gary Kasparov in 1997 , it was greeted in some quarters as if computers were about to overthrow humanity.

That hasn’t happened yet , but in spite of everything, western chess is a relatively simple game, with only about 10123 possible games existing that may be played out. Shogi is just a little more complex, though, offering about 10224 possible games.

The Mainichi Daily News reports that prime women’s shogi player Ichiyo Shimizu took part in a match staged at the University of Tokyo, playing against a computer called Akara 2010. Akara is outwardly a Buddhist term meaning 10224, the newspaper reports, and the system beat Shimizu in six hours, over the course of 86 moves.

Japan’s national broadcaster, NHK, reported that Akara ” aggressively pursued Shimizu from the beginning” . It’s the first time a computer has beaten a qualified human player.

The Japan Shogi Association , incidentally, seems to have a deep fear of computers beating humans. In 2005, it introduced a ban on professional members playing computers without permission, and Shimizu’s defeat was the first since an easier computer system was beaten by a (male) champion, Akira Watanabe, in 2007.

Perhaps the association doesn’t mind so much if a girl is beaten: NHK reports that the JSA will conduct an in-depth analysis of the match before it decides whether to allow the software to challenge the next-ranking male professional player. Meanwhile, humans must withstand more flexible computers, capable of playing more than only 1 variety of game .

And IBM has now developed Watson , a computer designed to conquer humans at the game show Jeopardy . Watson, says IBM, is ” designed to rival the human mind’s ability to grasp the actual meaning behind words, distinguish between relevant and irrelevant content, and ultimately, demonstrate confidence to deliver precise final answers” . IBM say they have got improved artificial intelligence enough that Watson can be ready to challenge Jeopardy champions, and they’ll put their boast to the test soon, says The brand new York Times .

I’ll leave you with these wise and telling words from the defeated Shimizu: ” It made no eccentric moves, and from partway through it felt like I was playing against a human,” Shimizu told the Mainichi Daily News. ” I’m hoping humans and computers turns into stronger one day through friendly competition.”

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This post is tagged: mainichi daily news, national broadcaster, newspaper reports, professional members, professional player, university of tokyo