Defeated by AI, a legend in the board game Go warns: Get ready for what’s next

Lee Saedol, a former professional Go player, inside one of his Go academies in Hanam, South Korea, on May 27, 2024. When an AI opponent defeated Lee, one of the world’s top Go players, it was seen as a harbinger of a new era for human-machine interactions. — The New York Times

SEOUL, South Korea: Lee Saedol was the finest Go player of his generation when he suffered a decisive loss, defeated not by a human opponent but by artificial intelligence.

Lee was beaten by AlphaGo, an AI computer program developed by Google’s DeepMind unit. The stunning upset, in 2016, made headlines around the world and looked like a clear sign that artificial intelligence was entering a new, profoundly unsettling era.