In two ancient and complex board games, Go and Chinese chess, the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has provoked different reactions. While AI has made remarkable achievements in the field of Go, in the field of Chinese chess, the impact of AI seems to be limited. What is the reason behind this difference?
In the field of Chinese chess, the logic of AI is roughly consistent with traditional chess theory. Although the AI sometimes uses some surprising moves, such as "one move more than one" or "multiple moves without leaving the car", in general, its moves are in line with human cognition. This allows humans to have a certain understanding of the AI's logic.
On the contrary, in the field of Go, the AI represented by AlphaGo Zero completely breaks the traditional theory of Go. It redefined the game of Go and overturned the various chess theories accumulated over thousands of years. Go is a highly complex game, and the AI's logic is often difficult to understand. It is difficult for humans to trace the logic behind each step of AI, and it is even more difficult to learn from it. Unlike Chinese chess, Go's AI logic is unbridled and full of opportunities, and humans can only understand the intention of the original move after dozens of moves.
In the world of chess, top players can learn some subtle moves through games against AI. Although AI is faster and more accurate in computing, humans can still understand some of the AI's logic. This is because the AI's chess logic is relatively in line with traditional chess theory, so humans have the opportunity to learn something from it.
However, in the field of Go, AI's logic is often beyond comprehension for humans. Although humans can try to imitate some of the AI's moves, the way AI thinks and calculates is often difficult to understand. This leads to the problem that it is difficult for humans to learn new knowledge of Go from playing against AI. Unlike chess, Go's AI logic is almost incomprehensible to humans.
In addition to the above differences, another important factor is the popularity and influence of chess and Go in society. In China, chess is played on the streets and alleys, and it has a broad mass base. Everyone is happy to play against others, and everyone has a desire to win. Chess games and atmospheres in the streets, parks, squares, and community events form part of the interaction between people. This kind of social interaction and entertainment nature is difficult to replace by AI.
On the contrary, the "street impact" of Go is relatively small, especially on an international scale. Go's international influence is not as great as that of Chinese chess, so it has been hit even more severely after being conquered by AI. Professional players in the Go world may be more affected than chess players, as their careers are more dependent on the game. But in street games and amateur Go enthusiasts, the impact of AI is relatively limited.
Although AI has made remarkable achievements in both the field of chess and the field of Go, the influence of AI on chess is limited due to the fact that AI's logic is roughly in line with traditional chess theory, humans can understand AI's logic of chess, and the existence of street games and interpersonal interaction. Go has significant differences in these aspects, leading to a more profound impact of AI on Go.
The main reason why Chinese chess has not been so affected by AI is not that the number of chess moves is easy to calculate and crack, but that we have a broad mass base of street games, and everyone is willing to fight against each other. Everyone does have the desire to win when playing chess, but the mode, scene and atmosphere of human social activities are things that cannot be replaced by AI. As long as there are people playing chess on the streets, the AI will at most affect the state of the top players, but it is not enough to destroy the fun of chess for ordinary people. Go's "street influence" is obviously not as good as that of Chinese chess, and its international influence is greater than that of Chinese chess. Therefore, despite the remarkable achievements of AI in the field of Go, the charm and interpersonal interaction of Go still cannot be replaced.