[Stones and Stories]Human Imagination: The Infinite Frontier Beyond AI

Kellin Pelrine's Surprising Victory:
Defeating AI 14 out of 15 Games in Baduk with "Absurd Moves"
The Number of Possible Moves in Baduk: 10 to the Power of 171

How many possible moves are there in the game of Baduk? Could it be comparable to the total number of atoms in the universe? The universe is so vast that it is difficult to fully describe it with just the word "vast." According to scientists' analysis, the total number of atoms in the entire universe is said to reach 10 to the power of 80.

For reference, the number of stars in the universe exceeds the total number of grains of sand on Earth. No matter how many stars there are, they cannot outnumber the total atoms in the universe. After all, even a single star contains countless atoms. The interesting point is that the number of possible moves in Baduk surpasses the total number of atoms in the universe.

Baduk is a game played by placing black and white stones on 361 points arranged in 19 horizontal and 19 vertical lines. The number of possible moves in Baduk is known to reach as high as 10 to the power of 171. It is practically a number close to infinity.

'AlphaGo Zero' Unveiled / Photo by Google DeepMind

This result is one of the reasons why Baduk is regarded with reverence. Perhaps that is why there has been a firmly established belief for a very long time: no matter how much science and technology advance, they will never surpass human Baduk skills. Is the claim that scientific technology cannot keep up with Baduk, which is based on human infinite imagination, really true?

On March 9, 2016, human pride was shattered. It was the shockwave brought by the appearance of the AI Baduk player AlphaGo. The "Google DeepMind Challenge Match" between Korea's Lee Sedol 9-dan and AlphaGo held in Seoul. Lee Sedol is a player highly regarded as the world's best in creative Baduk. Yet, Lee Sedol was defeated.

The scenes seen in science fiction movies became reality. At the time when fear was spreading, "Ssendel" Lee Sedol miraculously stood up again. In the fourth game against AlphaGo on March 13, Lee Sedol's 78th white move made AlphaGo stagger. AlphaGo, which seemed like an impregnable fortress, was defeated. Humanity cheered. So, was the 78th white move truly a brilliant masterpiece? It did indeed confuse AlphaGo. However, there is disagreement about whether it was the best move.

Seven years have passed without resolving the doubts surrounding AlphaGo's defeat. During that time, AI has evolved further. It was thought that 2016 was the first and last time humans defeated AI in Baduk?until the episode of Kellin Pelrine, an American amateur player ranked second, was reported...

Kellin Pelrine reportedly won 14 out of 15 matches against the AI Kata GO. Kata GO possesses a skill level surpassing AlphaGo. How did an amateur player, not even a professional, overcome the AI barrier?

The secret to victory was surprisingly simple: a strategy of shaking the AI by making "absurd moves" that the AI could not predict. Kellin Pelrine had the AI play against itself to find weaknesses and then learned from them. A solution discovered by a studying human. "By placing stones large and slow, I distracted the AI."

AI learns the best moves by analyzing matches of professional Baduk players. If a professional player responds with low-level moves that they would never make, wouldn't the opponent (AI) be confused? It would be a situation where the AI has to solve problems not included in the input (learned) cases.

AI possesses calculation abilities far superior to humans. But does AI calculation work even when the system and order of data collapse? AI also has gaps. Humans are the ones who exploit those gaps.

Human infinite imagination may be an impregnable fortress in another sense as well.