Man Loses To Machine: IBM Bests Kasparov

THE FOLLOWING IS AN ENCORE TIM MOORE BLOG:


This blog’s title implies that humans coming up short when matched against machines is either a rarity or newsworthy or both.

Not so.

Anyone who has lost a dollar in a vending machine can attest to the feelings of helplessness that accrue when those Fritos are RIGHT THERE—on the other side of the glass, yet unattainable, smugly nestled on their little perch, seeming to laugh at you. Kicking the machine makes you feel better—only until the moment of impact. The site of you hopping around holding your now-throbbing foot only adds injury to insult.

Yes, machines have been pushing us around ever since Eli Whitney invented that cotton-pickin’ gin. Yet, despite it all, we have chalked up all frustrations with machines to man-made malfunctions in either design or construction. The INTELLIGENCE associated only with human beings could never be duplicated by an inanimate object.

That is, until this day in 1996.

The IBM computer named “Big Blue” defeated reigning World Chess Champion Gary Kasparov in the first game of a 6-game match. Although man eventually triumphed over machine—as Kasparov won the match 4-2, this initial defeat laid the groundwork for refinements in the computer software that eventually allowed for a better Big Blue, one that won a rematch in 1997 (3.5 to 2.5)

Although Big Blue could evaluate 100 million chess combinations PER SECOND (my guess is that Kasparov was a tad below this level of performance), the initial machine could not store PAST moves, thereby creating a predictability quotient for the individual player. After the initial match, IBM eggheads went back to Geek Central and improved this shortcoming. The Big Blue that faced our human hero a year later was now able to process 200 million combinations per second AND look backward to past moves.

Kasparov was toast.

Here’s the video:




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJarxpYyoFI

I love chess—and played quite a bit while young. Matches were a slow affair and never did I attempt to play multiple games at once (show-offs!)

Although it could accurately be said that Kasparov was STILL playing against humans—the ones who created the computer and wrote the software, it’s my belief that part of our dignity DIED that day.

Artificial intelligence is now a common term and the capabilities of computers since 1996 are light years ahead. Robots with vision and dexterity are able to simulate much of human movement. Could they eventually replace human beings doing everyday tasks?

Maybe, but none would EVER be victorious against a vending machine that refuses to fork over the Fritos!

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