IT TOOK 18 years to figure out all 500 billion billion combinations at checkers, but Canadian scientists have finally programmed a computer that can't be beaten at the 5000-year-old game.
The achievement, reported in Science magazine, is considered a milestone in the development of artificial intelligence.
Called Chinook, the checkers champion computer is the brainchild of Jonathan Schaeffer and his team of computer wizards at the University of Alberta.
Completed in April, Chinook can never be beaten, and can only be tied at checkers if its opponent makes all the right moves, Mr Schaeffer said.
"I think we've raised the bar, and raised it quite a bit, in terms of what can be achieved in computer technology and artificial intelligence," said Mr Schaeffer, who is chairman of the university's department of computing science.
A self-described "awful" checkers player, Mr Schaeffer created Chinook to exploit the superior processing and memory capabilities of computers and determine the best way to incorporate artificial intelligence principles to play checkers.
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The achievement, reported in Science magazine, is considered a milestone in the development of artificial intelligence.
Called Chinook, the checkers champion computer is the brainchild of Jonathan Schaeffer and his team of computer wizards at the University of Alberta.
Completed in April, Chinook can never be beaten, and can only be tied at checkers if its opponent makes all the right moves, Mr Schaeffer said.
"I think we've raised the bar, and raised it quite a bit, in terms of what can be achieved in computer technology and artificial intelligence," said Mr Schaeffer, who is chairman of the university's department of computing science.
A self-described "awful" checkers player, Mr Schaeffer created Chinook to exploit the superior processing and memory capabilities of computers and determine the best way to incorporate artificial intelligence principles to play checkers.
Discuss Add this link to... Bury
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