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World champ Go master quits as A.I. is too good

Go Grand Champion - Level 0

An 18-time world champion, Lee Se-Dol, retired because humans cannot beat computers at Go. Mr Lee is the only person to beat Google's AlphaGo. This is a computer program that plays Go. Mr Lee said: "Even if I become the number one, there is [something] that cannot be defeated."

Go started in China 3,000 years ago. Today, 46 million people play it in 75 countries. Mr Lee started playing at the age of five. He turned professional when he was 12. He won just one game against AlphaGo. He said it was because of a "bug" in the computer program. Today's Go programs are more powerful than AplhaGo.

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Go Grand Champion - Level 1

An 18-time world champion retired because humans cannot beat computers at the game of Go. His name is Lee Se-Dol. Mr Lee is the only person in the world to beat Google's AlphaGo computer algorithm. This is an A.I. computer program to play Go. Mr Lee told reporters that: "Even if I become the number one, there is an entity that cannot be defeated. With the debut of A.I. in Go games, I've realized that I'm not at the top."

Go started in China 3,000 years ago. Today, 46 million people play it in 75 countries. It is the oldest board game in the world. Mr Lee started playing at the age of five. He turned professional when he was 12. He played five games against Google's AlphaGo and lost four of them. He said he won because of a "bug". The bug did not know what to do when Mr Lee made a "tricky" move. Today's Go programs are more powerful than the one that beat Mr Lee.

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Go Grand Champion - Level 2

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A world champion retired because he decided humans cannot beat computers at the game of Go. His name is Lee Se-Dol from South Korea. Mr Lee is the only person in the world to ever beat Google's AlphaGo computer algorithm. This is a special A.I. computer program created to play Go. Mr Lee, an 18-time world champion, told reporters that: "Even if I become the number one, there is an entity that cannot be defeated. With the debut of A.I. in Go games, I've realized that I'm not at the top." Some people compare Go to chess.

Go originated in China 3,000 years ago. Today, it is played in 75 different countries. It is the oldest board game in the world. The International Go Federation said over 46 million people worldwide knew how to play it. Mr Lee started playing at the age of five and turned professional when he was 12. He played five games against Google's AlphaGo and lost four of them. He said his only victory was because of a "bug". The bug did not know what to do when Mr Lee made a "tricky" move. Today's Go programs are much more powerful than the one that beat Mr Lee.

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11 online activities    |    8-page printable   (PDF)

Go Grand Champion - Level 3

A world champion has retired because he has decided humans cannot beat computers at his game. The grand champion is Lee Se-Dol from South Korea. He was world champion at the ancient, strategy board game Go. Some people compare Go to chess. Mr Lee is the only person in the world to ever beat Google's AlphaGo computer algorithm. This is a special A.I. computer program created by Google to play Go. Mr Lee, an 18-time world champion, told reporters earlier this week that: "Even if I become the number one, there is an entity that cannot be defeated. With the debut of A.I. in Go games, I've realized that I'm not at the top even if I become the number one."

The game of Go originated in China around 3,000 years ago. Today, it is played mostly in China, Japan and South Korea. It is believed to be the oldest board game in the world. In 2016, the International Go Federation said it had 75 member nations, and that over 46 million people worldwide knew how to play Go. Mr Lee started playing at the age of five. He turned professional seven years later, when he was 12. He played five games against Google's AlphaGo and lost four of them. He said his one victory was because of a "bug" in the program. The bug did not know what to do when Mr Lee made a "tricky" move. Today's Go programs are much more powerful than the one that beat Mr Lee.

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25 online activities    |    27-page printable    |    2-page mini-lesson