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moneymaker
538 days ago
(http://www.freenewmexican.com)
Category: Science Discovery Environment |
The result?
A perfect game cannot be won or lost but will inevitably end in a draw, according to the research published in the online edition of the journal Science.
The proof demonstrates that even the most skilled player can’t count on executing a cunning move designed to win — he or she can only avoid making a mistake that leads to a loss.
The complete solution to checkers marks a milestone in computing, achieving a goal that researchers had pondered since the earliest days of computers.
It is not a victory of pure machine intelligence, but one based largely on rote calculating ability.
The task of analyzing the game to its end was so difficult that from 1996 to 2001, researchers had to put their efforts on hold because the most powerful computers of the time weren’t up to the task. The team had up to 200 computers working full time on the problem.
“You’ve got 500 billion pieces of hay in your haystack, and you’ve got to find the needles,” said lead researcher Jonathan Schaeffer, chairman of computer science at the University of Alberta in Canada. “How do you do it in a smart way? If you don’t, you’ll spend centuries sifting through all this data.”
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