Finally, the showdown between humans and the Go AI, “Komnoe,” has entered the promotion phase.
In fact, just by giving press releases to journalists, we experienced an explosive reaction.
Lee Hyun-woo checked the comments on various portals and smiled faintly.
“They still think AI can’t beat humans.”
Most of the comments seemed to convey a sense of disbelief.
He was curious. How would they react when they witnessed the defeat of Lee Sam-seok?
The wait didn’t take long.
Finally, the match between “Lee Sam-seok 9-dan vs. Komnoe” was broadcast live through portals and TV, and in the first match, the computer achieved a resounding victory over the human with a score of 187 moves.
『I lost because I didn’t know, because I misjudged, and because I failed!』
The expression of Lee Sam-seok, mentioning the three reasons for his loss, was filled with astonishment.
Naturally, the Go community, which supported Lee Sam-seok, was in shock.
Most of them predicted a complete victory for humans and even gave interviews to that effect.
The fortunate part was that forgotten Go stars were summoned.
Komnoe solidified its advantage at move 102, and Lee Sam-seok made a significant mistake.
The failure to predict the bold move of the AI was the human’s downfall.
Each of them added their commentary to the first match in their own way.
At the same time, they predicted the second match, which was generally pessimistic.
Lee Sam-seok will inevitably be at a disadvantage in the second match as well. Komnoe knows all of Lee Sam-seok’s game records, but Lee Sam-seok has never properly analyzed Komnoe.
It’s an information asymmetry. No matter how skilled you are, if you don’t know your opponent, it’s hard to win.
To have a fair match, a human who has perfectly understood Komnoe should have stepped up.
Where would we find such a human right now? It was all just retrospective analysis.
In the midst of this, the second match proceeded.
Surprisingly, this time there was a reversal.
Lee Sam-seok won by resignation after 201 moves.
People cheered in the chat room.
Why am I so happy about this?
Lee Sam-seok 9-dan, great job!
Win the third match too and show that humans are not yet ready to be dominated by AI!
Meanwhile, Lee Sam-seok participated in the interview with a relieved expression.
“I did my best to win at least one game. And I think I was able to win because of the people who supported me.”
After the second match, the portal articles were all about the Go match between humans and AI.
It was almost impossible to find other articles.
Naturally, the forgotten Go stars came out again to comment on the second match, and the articles containing their words received an enormous number of views.
『Lee Sam-seok 9-dan, has already evolved with Komnoe!』
『AI also has weaknesses!』
Naturally, positive outlooks for the third match followed one after another.
When he lost the first match, it was due to a lack of information, but from the second match, it was explained that Lee Sam-seok had properly analyzed Komnoe and played the match.
Therefore, experts who predicted that the third match would proceed more smoothly than the second were left speechless when the third match ended.
『Komnoe wins the final match with 175 moves!』
『Was Lee Sam-seok not in good condition? After repeated mistakes, he threw the stone…』
Of course, thanks to the media summoning the experts again, endless analyses spread through the pages.
At that time, the final boss, Lee Hyun-woo’s statement was released in an interview.
『It’s not a victory of humans or AI, but a victory of Go』
Thanks to this clear interpretation, many in the Go community cheered.
At the same time, his younger brother, Lee Jung-woo, also did an interview, saying that Komnoe would regularly play matches with Go players in the future.
Instead, since AI won, he declared that they would now invest in humans who can beat AI.
『Lee Jung-woo decides to make a significant investment in Go schools nationwide!』
He announced that he would donate 0.1% of this year’s profits from 【Jungle Games】, which sparked a national Go boom.
Around this time, some people said,
They talk about the victory of AI, the victory of Go, but in reality, it was the victory of 【Jungle】.
As this match became known not only in Korea but worldwide, 【Jungle】 became synonymous with the leading company in AI.
On the other hand, there were also warning messages.
- AI that escapes human control will eventually turn into a great disaster.
As always, it was a voice of caution against AI.
However, given the timing, the question raised by this voice resonated greatly with people.
- What if AI surpasses human intelligence? Would it become a significant threat to humans?
Each time, Lee Hyun-woo and Lee Jung-woo had to provide answers.
- It’s controllable, and it will soon be shown that it is more helpful than threatening.
Meanwhile, after the match with Lee Sam-seok, a debate broke out during tea time.
“I’m afraid of a future dominated by AI. Should we keep developing this?”
“I’d prefer if we didn’t muddy the waters with stories from movies or novels. Honestly, I think humans are more frightening. Aren’t humans the only species that harms their own kind?”
“I agree. And the act of harming the same species is purely driven by emotion, which AI doesn’t have, so such things can’t happen.”
“That’s exactly why it’s more problematic. Without emotion, it can cause even bigger issues. For example, if it determines that the current population explosion is a threat to humanity, it could commit mass murder without emotion.”
“Wow, as I said before, you’ve watched too many movies or read too many novels.”
“What did you say?”
“Alright, alright, stop!”
Sensing the heated atmosphere, Lee Hyun-woo stepped in to calm everyone down.
Then he said,
“I don’t want to engage in a blame game, but both sides seem to be right. Depending on how it’s used, AI can be a medicine or a poison. So I think of weapons like knives or guns. Whether these weapons were made to protect people or to harm others depends on the creator or user.”
In other words, without the right philosophy, developing AI is very dangerous, which was Lee Hyun-woo’s belief, and he was conveying this contextually.
Those who understood his meaning nodded.
Seeing them like this, Lee Hyun-woo concluded with a smile.
“In that sense, it seems that the people here at least have the qualifications. At the very least, when developing AI, you have the good intention that it should help humanity.”
This was also a powerful message.
To develop AI in such a way that it might not harm humans, hundreds and thousands of times of contemplation and effort are needed to steer it in a positive direction.
“Anyway, from this event, one thing seems certain. Knowing that AI that beats humans can be a huge promotion, won’t other companies also accelerate their development?”
As Lee Hyun-woo predicted, America’s 【Yaho】 announced that they would start developing Chess AI.
“Chess, huh…”
Western chess could be seen as similar to Eastern janggi (Korean chess), but in reality, it had the same level of authority and popularity as Go.
However, since it wasn’t as complex as Go, the development speed wouldn’t take that long.
This prediction was not wrong.
Not long after, during a visit to Jeju Island, Jamie Wang mentioned that they were on the verge of development.
“In fact, we were already preparing while watching the process led by 【Jungle】.”
“Ah, I see.”
“However, it seems it won’t be as sensational as Go. As always, the world pays more attention to the first mover.”
“Shall I share some of the spotlight?”
“What? How?”
“We start developing Chess AI as well.”
“…?”
“And if we promote a match between AI vs. AI? Won’t that attract enough attention?”
“…!”
An exclamation appeared in Jamie Wang’s eyes.
In the US, it was much easier to find an opponent for Chess AI compared to Korea, so a match was already scheduled.
In other words, only the announcement timing was left, but a survey showed that it was less sensational than the match between Lee Sam-seok 9-dan and Komnoe in Korea.
But if 【Jungle】’s Komnoe switched to Chess and faced 【Yaho】’s AI?
“The world will focus on the battle between the first mover and the fast follower.”
Would Jamie Wang want to miss this opportunity? Naturally, he nodded quickly.
“Wow, that’s an unexpected match. Of course, we would love it.”
“Then I’ll hold a meeting internally and push it forward.”
“Yes, then I’ll wait.”
Jamie Wang returned with high expectations, and Lee Hyun-woo moved to meet those expectations.
Another month passed, and news came that 【Yaho】’s AI ‘Y-brain’ had defeated the US Chess Champion.
Then Lee Hyun-woo immediately distributed a press release to the media.
『Komnoe challenges Y-brain!』
『AI battle between Korea and the US: Who will win?』
『Japan and China’s AI still at a rudimentary level, looking enviously at Korea…』
With various elements of national pride added, another explosive reaction occurred in Korea.
It was the same worldwide.
How many people would be interested in a battle between AIs?
Just announcing that they were entering Chess AI development drew enormous attention.
Because of this, Lee Jung-woo got busy again.
“Probably three months? It will all be done by then.”
“Really? That’s quick.”
“People will see it as the difference between Go and Chess, but for AI, both are meaningless. Just think of it as an extension of deep learning. So after storing and learning all the data of Chess games, the outcome will depend on who applies it better.”
Although his younger brother was explaining it in an easy-to-understand way, Lee Hyun-woo, without specialized knowledge, only grasped a superficial understanding.
Anyway, Lee Hyun-woo’s concern was one.
“What’s the chance of winning?”
“Wow, you were interested in that kind of thing too?”
“Who likes losing? Of course, I’m interested. I can’t stand losing. And I have to win no matter what.”
“I didn’t know. I thought you had no interest in the competition. Well, anyway, I have no intention of losing either. Of course, I’m confident.”
Was it because of that confidence?
Three months later, in the Chess match between Komnoe and Y-brain held in Las Vegas, 【Jungle】 emerged victorious.
With this victory, both companies wrote yet another success story.
It was just a Chess broadcast, but it garnered viewership comparable to the World Series in the United States.
Perhaps because of this, when they returned to Korea, they received numerous challenges.
Naturally, it was from IT companies worldwide that had ventured into AI.
“This is fun.”
Certainly, figuring out whether AI benefits or harms humanity was a homework assignment.
But since the process itself provided enough value and fun in development, Lee Hyun-woo’s second life seemed to become much richer.
