The defining moment in AI

So we are all aware of AI and have a sense of what the future will be like through the harnessing and implementation of AI.  This is quite subjective and everybody will have a defining moment where the figurative lights switch on as to what this power actually meant. When was yours?

I was aware of AlphaGo having played the game Go against the 18 x world champion  back in 2016 and aware of the enhancements thereafter. This I saw, as just part of the evolution of AI as we know it. But then I watched Alpha go - The Movie and this just blew me out of the water. Hollywood could not have crafted a more beautiful story, with such amazing actors , unbeknown to each one of them, as to the contribution each had played in this incredible story.

 For me, THIS was the defining moment in the history of humanity when AI reached an age of maturity to which there is no turning back. With machine learning having evolved to this level , the possibilities, in the right hands, is endless.

To take a step backwards into the world of Malcolm Gladwells book "Outliers" in which the cultural differences played a part in aviation accidents, and understanding the nuances of each culture, I am truly glad that the battle between AI and human was between the British AI of Deep Mind and the  Korean Asian Go Master player Lee Sedol.   AI winning was always going to happen but the victory was tempered by the humility of both victor and defeated. I can just imagine the outcome if some other cultures had been on the winning end, the smugness which permeates their being would
have left a bitterness which could not have been covered through the sands of time.

Dr David Silver of Deep Mind impressed me no end. Although I am aware of him winning the ACM prize in computing in 2019 I think his contribution is still not truly acknowledged. He was not alone however and was part of a team and I don't doubt for a second that he would not be the first to acknowledge this.

There is so much more I would love to say but I think you need to watch the movie / documentary first. If you, like me, have a pennant for both technology and the human story, this will move you like no other.

To be alive in these times is a blessing!

Enjoy!