But the victory by software called AlphaGo showed yet another way
that computers could be developed to perform better than humans in highly complex tasks, and it offered a glimpse of the promise of new technologies that mimic the way the brain functions.
Chinese officials perhaps unwittingly demonstrated their conflicted feelings at the victory by software backed by a company from the United States,
as they cut off live streams of the contest within the mainland even as the official news media promoted the promise of artificial intelligence.
AlphaGo — which was developed by DeepMind, the artificial intelligence arm of Google’s parent, Alphabet
Incorporated — has already pushed assumptions about just how creative a computer program can be.
“AlphaGo is like a different player this year compared to last year.”
Go, in which two players vie for control of a board using black
and white pieces called stones, is considered complex because of the sheer number of possible moves.
“But this year, it became like a god of Go.”
Perhaps just as notably, the victory took place in China, a rising power in the field of artificial intelligence
that is increasingly seen as a rival to the United States.
Mr. Ke, who smiled and shook his head as AlphaGo finished out the game, said afterward
that his was a “bitter smile.” After he finishes this week’s match, he said, he would focus more on playing against human opponents, noting that the gap between humans and computers was becoming too great.
China has been drawn to AlphaGo since its victory last year over a South Korean Go master, Lee Se-dol.
