Mysterious Online ‘Go’ Player, Suspected of Being AI, Beats Top Asian ‘Go’ Players in Record Wins

(YicaiGlobal) Jan. 4 — At the end of 2016, a user with the screen name “Master” challenged world ‘Go,’ a strategy board game, champions from China and South Korea via an online ‘Go’ platform. “Master” set a record of more than 30 consecutive wins with zero failures, leading to speculation as to whether the player is “human or artificial intelligence (AI),” tech.sina.com.cn reported.

On Dec. 29, “Master” used the ‘Go’ website ewiqi.com to compete at ultra-fast speed with the current No. 1 South Korean ‘Go’ player Park Jung Hwan, the Shinco Bailing Cup World Go Tournament champion Chen Yaoye, as well as China Go Celebrity Competition champion Lian Xiao, winning with a record 4-0, 2-0 and 2-0, respectively.

On Dec. 30, “Master” twice defeated an anonymous ‘Go’ player using the alias “Kiss Goodbye.” Top Chinese ‘Go’ player Ke Jie later revealed that he was “Kiss Goodbye.” Yesterday, “Master” faced Ke Jie again, alongside top Japanese and Korean competitors, and brought its consecutive win total to 50.

Since Google-developed AlphaGo’s victory over the former world champion Lee Se-dol in an open tournament in the first half of 2016, AI has had an undeniable presence in the ‘Go’ community. But top ‘Go’ players refuse to give up and pine for another opportunity to take on AlphaGo. The unexpected emergence of “Master” as a champion over South Korean and Chinese players has led fans to suggest that the incognito player could be AlphaGo in disguise, or a new AI.

Having accepted AI’s place in the world of ‘Go,’ Ke Jie now hopes to reach to an elevated skill level with the help of the technology. “From now on, we will enter a new realm and achieve new heights with computer support,” Ke commented.