#Facebook vs #Google : The #Go Wars
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| The Guardian |
It was only a few weeks ago that we heard about how Facebook were testing how Android users would handle it if they couldn't access Facebook anymore, just in case Google removed the app from their Play Store. Now it seems as if Facebook are trying to beat Google when it comes to whose Go playing AI will reach recognition first.
Go is an ancient Chinese board game where players move black and white counters across a 19 x 19 square. There are around 250 possible moves for players to make each turn in a game of Go where there are only 35 in the slightly similar game of Chess. So if a computer can win a game of Chess, surely they can win at Go too? Both Google and Facebook seemed to have started to look into building an AI to play the game last year but one of them is miles ahead of the other.
In November 2015 Facebook published a paper highlighting their research and successes on their Go project. They appeared to be making good work and the standard of their AI was able to reach the same standard as the AI's that had been worked on for years. Google said nothing of their research even though it has now been revealed that in October of that year their AI had already beaten all the other Go playing programs as well as a professional player, the three times reigning European Go champion, Fan Hui who lost 5-0 in a series of games in London.
This already put Google miles ahead so when Google informed the media that they would be making an announcement about their AI on the 27th January, Facebook decided to make their own on the 26th. Their AI could now make moves in as fast as 0.1 seconds and the moves were thought out by the AI so it no longer made pointless moves. Of course, this seemed amazing until the news about Google's AI came out. In this case, they probably shouldn't have tried to upstage Google.
That being said, Facebook is clearly doing good work on artificial intelligence, they are able to build it up quickly and make it work to a good standard. It may not be smart enough to beat a human Go player yet but this ability to think and make complicated choices could be practical for any of uses the company wants to transfer their AI to. For the moment, at least, Google remain the reigning AI champions.
Rosina Brooker
Rosina is a Songbird rookie with a degree in Creative Writing. She's trying to focus on her novel on the side but is hoping that Content Writing will turn out to be a good career choice in the mean time! Follow her @RosinaAtSMF
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#Facebook vs #Google : The #Go Wars
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