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Human Go champion backtracks on vow to never face an AI opponent again
Back in May, AlphaGo from Google, an AI algorithm that is part of DeepMind, defeated the human world champion Ke Jie in a three-part match. After it was over, Jie vowed never to play a computer again. But apparently something has changed his mind because Chinese news sources report that Jie will once again play an artificial intelligence at an AI tournament to be held in China in April 2018.
Google's AlphaGo AI can teach itself to master games like chess
Google's DeepMind team has already advanced its AlphaGo AI to dominate Go without human input, but now the system is clever enough to master other board games without intervention. Researchers have developed a more generalized system for AlphaGo Zero that can train itself to achieve "superhuman" skill in chess, Shogi (a Japanese classic) and other game types knowing only the rules, all within less than a day. It doesn't need example games or other references.
Google's AlphaGo AI no longer requires human input to master Go
Google's AlphaGo already beat us puny humans to become the best at the Chinese board game of Go. Now, it's done with humans altogether. DeepMind, the Alphabet subsidiary behind the artificial intelligence, just announced AlphaGo Zero. The latest iteration of the computer program is the most advanced yet, outperforming all previous versions. It's also different from its predecessors in one uniquely significant way: Whereas the older AlphaGos trained in Go from thousands of human amateur and professional games, Zero foregoes the need for human insight altogether. Like the unpopular kid in class, it will learn simply by playing alone, and against itself.
DeepMind forms an ethics group to explore the impact of AI
Google's AI-research arm DeepMind has announced the creation of DeepMind Ethics & Society (DMES), a new unit dedicated to exploring the impact and morality of the way AI shapes the world around us. Along with external advisors from academia and the charitable sector, the team aims to "help technologists put ethics into practice, and to help society anticipate and direct the impact of AI so that it works for the benefit of all".
Elon Musk urges the UN to limit AI weapons
Elon Musk has signed his name alongside more than 100 others to ask the UN to regulate the use of autonomous weapons systems. The group of concerned engineers, many of whom are respected in the field of AI, is asking the global body to "protect civilians" from "misuse" of AI-driven weapons. They believe that smart, self-guided kill bots would become the tool of choice for despots and tyrants.
Google and Blizzard invite you to train AI with 'StarCraft II'
Google, apparently tired of trouncing human players at Go with its DeepMind AI, set its computer intelligence up with Blizzard's video game Starcraft II last fall. It seems that was more than a stunt: Today, Google announced it has built a whole research environment around training its AI to play the space-age strategy game -- and it's publicly available. Anyone who wants can tinker with DeepMind's new toolset, SC2LE, to facilitate their own AI research.
DeepMind researchers create AI with an ‘imagination’
Being able to reason through potential future events is something humans are pretty good at doing, but that kind of ability is a real challenge when it comes to training AI. Taking those reasoning skills and using them to create a plan is even more difficult, but the Google DeepMind team has begun to tackle this problem. In a recent blog post, researchers describe new approaches they've developed for introducing "imagination-based planning" to AI.
High-tech solutions top the list in the fight against eye disease
"The eyes are the window to the soul," the adage goes, but these days our eyes could be better compared to our ethernet connection to the world. According to a 2006 study conducted by the University of Pennsylvania, the human retina is capable of transmitting 10 million bits of information per second. But for as potent as our visual capabilities are, there's a whole lot that can go wrong with the human eye. Cataracts, glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration (AMD) are three of the leading causes of blindness the world over. Though we may not have robotic ocular prosthetics just yet, a number of recent ophthalmological advancements will help keep the blinds over those windows from being lowered.
Google DeepMind AI learns to creatively move around obstacles
Reinforcement learning (RL) is the practice of teaching and guiding behavior by using a reward system. Desirable behavior produces rewards; undesirable behavior does not. It's a common tool used in machine learning, and now the the Alphabet team has used it to teach the DeepMind AI to successfully navigate a parkour course.
Google DeepMind teams with Open AI to prevent a robot uprising
If you're worried that one day the robots will revolt and either exterminate or subjugate the entire human race, you're not alone. But instead of sitting back and waiting for the robot rebellion, two leaders in AI are teaming up to tackle the problem of creating smart computer programs that won't eventually try and take over.
Google's next DeepMind AI research lab opens in Canada
Google's DeepMind artificial intelligence team has been based in the UK ever since it was acquired in 2014. However, it's finally ready to branch out -- just not to the US. DeepMind has announced that its first international research lab is coming to the Canadian prairie city of Edmonton, Alberta later in July. A trio of University of Alberta computer science professors (Richard Sutton, Michael Bowling and Patrick Pilarski) will lead the group, which includes seven more AI veterans. But why not an American outpost?
DeepMind’s data deal with the NHS broke privacy law
An NHS Trust broke the law by sharing sensitive patient records with Google's DeepMind division, the UK's data watchdog has ruled. The long-awaited decision falls in line with the conclusion drawn by Dame Fiona Caldicott, the UK's National Data Guardian in May. The pair's agreement "failed to comply" with the Data Protection Act 1998, according to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), because patients weren't informed that their information was being used. The ICO also took issue with the size of the dataset — 1.6 million partial patient records — leveraged by DeepMind to test Streams, an app for detecting acute kidney injury.
Google's AlphaGo is the best Go player in the world
In the latest round of man versus machine, machine has come out on top. Google's AlphaGo beat Go world champion Ke Jie for a second time in as many days, taking an unassailable lead in the three-part series. By rights, Deepmind's AI can now be considered the world's best Go player, having beaten the game's two biggest names in a little under a year.
Google’s AlphaGo AI defeats the world’s best human Go player
Google's AI star, AlphaGo, wins again. It bested Ke Jie, the world's best Go player, by just half a point -- the closest margin possible. After the match, Google's DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis explained that this was how AlphaGo was programmed: to maximise its winning chances, rather than the winning margin. This latest iteration of the AI player, nicknamed Master, apparently uses 10 times less computational power than its predecessor that beat Lee Sedol, working from a single PC connected to Google's cloud server.
NHS gave DeepMind patient records on an ‘inappropriate legal basis’
A data-sharing deal between DeepMind and London's Royal Free Hospital Trust was struck on an "inappropriate legal basis," a top UK government advisor has said. In April 2016, NewScientist revealed that the company had received 1.6 million patient records to develop an app called "Streams." While there are strict rules regarding patient data and confidentiality, common law states that consent is "implied" if the information is being used for "direct care." Google's AI division used this line of thinking to justify the deal, however Dame Fiona Caldicott, the UK's National Data Guardian, disagrees because the app was still in testing at the time.
Google's AI will take on the world's top Go player next month
It's been a busy year for Google Deepmind. You might remember AlphaGo resoundingly beating Go grandmaster Lee Sedol by four games to one and secretly schooling some of the world's best Go players online, but the team has also found time to help Britain's national health service treat patients and arm its computer with new tricks to help it learn faster and "remember" previous knowledge. AlphaGo can now justifiably be considered one of the world's best Go players, but the Deepmind team can't make a bonafide claim until its AI has beaten the world number one: 19-year-old Chinese player Ke Jie. Deepmind co-founder and CEO Demis Hassabis has now confirmed that after months of speculation, the match is on.
DeepMind AI learns to 'remember' previous knowledge
For all the talk of artificial intelligence becoming increasingly brain-like, there's one area where it frequently falls short: memory. Neural networks usually have to learn everything they need to know about their duties, rather than building on top of existing experiences like real brains do. Alphabet's DeepMind team hopes to fix that. They've crafted an algorithm that lets a neural network 'remember' past knowledge and learn more effectively. The approach is similar to how your own mind works, and might even provide insights into the functioning of human minds.
DeepMind is using games to test AI aggression and cooperation
As our ability to create AI grows, it's important that we assess how it behaves in different situations. DeepMind, Google's AI division in London, has been concerned with one aspect in particular: what happens when two or more AI have similar or conflicting goals. The team wanted a test similar to the "Prisoner's Dilemma," a popular game that pits two suspects against one another. In this scenario, you're given a choice: testify against the other person and you'll go free, while they have to serve three years. If you both say yes independently, however, you'll serve two years in jail.
Korean Go body to ban smartphones thanks to Google's AI
South Korean Go players will be banned from using smartphones during official tournaments in the future, and it's all thanks to Google's AlphaGo AI. The Korea Times reports that the Korea Baduk Association -- baduk being the local name for Go -- is currently drafting new rules that will outlaw smartphone use in matches. While the organization is fully aware you can't carry AlphaGo around in your pocket at the moment, it's preempting a time when certain AI tools that can give players a competitive edge do become available on smartphones.
Google's DeepMind AI has been secretly schooling online Go players
Over the past year, Google's DeepMind AlphaGo AI has taken on (and defeated) worldwide Go masters in a series of high-profile matches. But in a sly move similar to a game-playing Turing test, DeepMind recently unleashed AlphaGo on some unsuspecting online Go players, thoroughly trouncing them in the process.
