South Korean Go master retires, saying AI, machines ‘cannot be defeated’

The one person who’s been able to beat Google’s algorithm at strategy board game Go has retired, saying that it was impossible to defeat machines and artificial intelligence.

According to South Korea’s Yonhap News agency, 18-time world Go champion Lee Se-dol said he decided to retire because after he realized that he was “not at the top even if I become number one.”

In 2016, the South Korean national faced off against AlphaGo, an AI created by Google’s sister company Deepmind.

In a set of five matches, Lee only managed to beat the computer once.

“There is an entity that cannot be defeated,” said Lee, who is considered to be one of the greatest Go players of the modern era.

The 36-year-old first started playing when he was five, only turning pro seven years later.

His high-profile showdown against the artificial intelligence program received both praise and concern over the capabilities of computer intelligence and machine learning.

View image in full screen

According to AFP, the AlphaGo has already improved to a superior, self-teaching version which has beat its predecessor in 100 games of Go to none.

Get daily National news

Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.

Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up

By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Originating in China over 3,000 years ago, Go took hold as a strategy game played mostly in China, Japan and South Korea.

2:19 A.I. fuels unprecedented growth in health and science

Despite the game’s simple rules, which see two players take turns placing white or black stones on a square board to try and capture the most territory, complex strategies were needed to in order attain victory.

According to BBC News, researchers say the game has more possible move configurations than there are atoms in the universe.

Despite Lee’s retirement, he is still scheduled to play against AI system HanDol in December.

1:39 ParityBOT uses AI to combat abusive tweets to female election candidates

HanDol, a program created South Korea’s NHN Entertainment Corp, has already beaten the country’s top five Go players.

Lee, who will be given a two stone advantage, expects that he will still lose.

“Even with a two-stone advantage, I feel like I will lose the first game to HanDol,” the former world champion told Yonhap News.

“These days, I don’t follow Go news. I wanted to play comfortably against HanDol as I have already retired, though I will do my best.”