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The dumbest chess AI has a lesson for us - The Atlantic

theatlantic.com · 1,159 words · saved by 1 readers

Martin is designed to fail at its only task—a reminder that AI doesn’t actually need humanlike smarts to be useful.

When IBM’s Deep Blue first defeated Garry Kasparov in 1997, the world chess champion accused the company of cheating. There was no way, he thought, that the computer could have beaten him without direct assistance from a skilled human player. But now the situation has flipped entirely. When grandmasters find themselves at the receiving end of a few mind-blowingly brilliant moves today, they accuse their opponent of using a computer . The only worthwhile competition for top chess engines is one another. The programs have become too powerful; humankind has lost. But as the machines push toward c

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