Google's artificial intelligence software is about to be put up to a real test.
BBC News is reporting that the company's AI software AlphaGo will play a one-on-one match with Lee Sedol, the world's No. 1-ranked Go player.
What's Go? A game that dates back to ancient China, using black and white stones on a grid and a bit more intricate than chess.
The news comes one week after Google announced that its AlphaGo AI software defeated French Go champion Fan Hui, so it has momentum on its side.
BBC compared that victory with IBM's Deep Blue program edging chess wizard Garry Kasparov in 1996. That being said, Kasparov did go on to win three, while drawing two of the five games that followed that loss.
Why is Go a real test for Google's AI? Well, the game has players relying on instinct, putting AlphaGo on the spot with critical moves it must make.
Sedol says he's "confident" about his chances of defeating AlphaGo, as reported by BBC.
Perhaps the best part of this matchup is we will all get to see it live, as the AlphaGo vs. Sedol one-on-one match will be livestreamed on YouTube from South Korea on March 9, 10, 12, 13 and 15, as tweeted in excitement by Demis Hassabis (pictured above), the head of Google's DeepMind lab.
It is a real privilege and honour to be playing the greatest Go player of the past decade, and a legend of the game #LeeSedol #AlphaGo
— Demis Hassabis (@demishassabis) February 4, 2016
Can AlphaGo unseat the world champ?
Hey, there's the IBM Deep Blue victory in 1996 and IBM's Watson defeating the best Jeopardy players in 2011 from which AlphaGo can draw inspiration.
