An artificial intelligence computer defeated one of the greatest go players in history, and he issues a warning that as technology develops, people may have a harsh awakening.
Legendary in the game of Go, which is usually regarded as more difficult than chess, is Lee Se-Dol from South Korea. At one point, the online and in-person game presented a computational challenge to researchers studying artificial intelligence.
The Go community was shocked in 2016 when Google’s DeepMind’s AlphaGo AI software overcame Lee. Lee lost four of five games.
The major setback forced Lee to announce his retirement from the game in 2019.
Since AI first appeared in Go games, he has come to understand that, despite his frenzied efforts to become the number one player, he is still at the top, Lee said. There is a force that cannot be overcome, even if he were to rise to the top.
In a recent interview, Lee shared how his defeat against AlphaGo had a significant effect on his life: “Losing to AI felt like my whole world was collapsing.” He is now cautioning that go players won’t be the only ones targeted by the technology. At a Seoul education fair, Lee stated, It will happen for others, but he faced the issues of AI early. It may not be a happy ending.
According to Lee, people used to be amazed by uniqueness, ingenuity, and invention. However, a lot of that has vanished since the advent of AI. Artists and a few notable academics have expressed skepticism regarding AI’s creative potential since the technology’s general adoption.
Professor of linguistics and philosopher Noam Chomsky stated in 2023 that he was “skeptical” about artificial intelligence’s potential to advance fields such as the arts.
In a Stephen Colbert interview, director Steven Spielberg claimed that artificial intelligence removes the “soul” from creative endeavors.
Spielberg stated that he believed the soul to be indescribable and inconceivable. It is also a universal quality that cannot be produced by any algorithm.