Go’s one thing, but can AlphaGo play mahjong?
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CHINESE web users have issued a challenge to the AlphaGo program that recently defeated one of the top human Go players, learn the nation’s real pastime — mahjong.
Reaction to the historic duel between human and artificial intelligence has been mixed.
At first, there were questions on why the human player — South Korean professional Lee Sedol — was not from China, where the game was invented more than 2,500 years ago.
Then, as AlphaGo scored three victories in the five-game match, web users began calling for a challenge in an arena Chinese are more comfortable in.
“Can AI beat mahjong masters?” was posted several times in comments on stories about the Go match on Sina Weibo.
Mahjong, China’s answer to poker, is usually played by four people.
In each turn, players draw tiles from a 144-tile pool, discard or intercept others’ to form sets of tiles that can win.
Experts say that compared with Go, mahjong has far fewer permutations for AI calculation, but involves a degree of chance and other factors that favor humans.
“Sometimes with a glimpse of the other player’s facial expression, I know how he or she is going to play. Can AI do that?” asked one blogger.
“Unlike Go, mahjong is not a quiet game that focuses on calculation. It involves a lot of interactions and teamwork between players,” another commented.
Some described mahjong as a competition involving both IQ and emotional intelligence.
Computers can undoubtedly blow humans out of water in math, but how about their ability in communicating and interpreting emotions?
Experts have advised against exaggerating AI’s prowess after the Go victory.
In the gaming field alone, AI researchers agree that computers, at their current stage, may not be able to beat humans in games that feature a high level of irrationality, including understanding feelings and creativity.
“AlphaGo’s learning and calculation prowess is based on formulas and data, but mahjong involves luck and emotions. To my knowledge, no AI is powerful enough to manage them,” said Ren Yi, an expert on computer game AI and CEO of a Nanjing-based tech company.
More human intelligence
Feng Jianfeng, chief scientist for a brain science and AI project in Shanghai, also refused to bet on AI’s definitive victory over human mahjong masters, as the game involves more human intelligence than calculation.
“AlphaGo’s structure and arithmetic only emulates some primary functions of human brains, not including emotions, decision making, attention and creativity,” Feng told reporters.
“It has just done something computers are very good at. It is a landmark and will greatly boost AI development, but AI still has a long way to go.”
Feng’s team is studying Alzheimer’s disease with the help of AI, but defying public expectations of AI supplementing patients’ declining brain abilities, Feng said that what computers could do so far was help make more accurate diagnoses by navigating through big data.
The disease affects tens of millions of elderly people worldwide and has no effective cure, though medical experts say playing games that activate the brain could help with prevention.
So for those worrying about the disease, the Chinese advice would be instead of pinning their hopes on AI enjoy a game of mahjong with friends.
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