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Go grandmaster Lee Sedol of South Korea showed a beautiful play, challenging a Go-playing artificial intelligence (AI) to the last minute, despite a 4-1 loss in a historic match of the ancient Chinese board game.
The best-of-five series ended on Tuesday with AlphaGo winning its fourth victory in the final match. The final winner was already determined as the computer program, developed by Google's AI subsidiary DeepMind, won the first three games in a row.
The match of the century, however, may have inspired many Go fans and those who wish to become "second Lee Sedol," as the Go grandmaster revealed his strong mental power and humble attitude toward a match that is tantamount to fighting hundreds of supercomputers alone.
When Lee finally won his first and single victory, which he described as a priceless one that cannot be traded with anything, in the fourth match, all of journalists at the venue gave him applause and cheers before the press conference.
Following his defeat in the final match, Lee told reporters that it was a game revealing his shortage, which was the main cause of his another loss. He expressed gratitude for many cheers and encouragement, while regretting the loss of the final match.
Lee voiced his doubts whether he will be able to defeat AlphaGo in another match, but he said AlphaGo remains at a level that humans can play tightly. He noted that it took time for him to adjust to AlphaGo's playing style and a different environment where he can not feel any emotion of the opponent.
One commentator said that it is too early to say that AI has surpassed humans in Go despite AlphaGo's sweeping victory as Lee fought AlphaGo with little knowledge about the computer program, including a playing style and a strategy.
Only after analyzing AlphaGo's strategy sufficiently and holding a match once again between the AI and human Go players, it can be determined whether machines may surpass humans in the board game, the commentator said.
Lee, one of the greatest Go players who has won 18 world championships for 21 years of his professional career, had originally expected a 5-0 victory before the match. After his shocking defeat in the first match, he maintained his confidence saying that the match just started.
The 33-year-old said it was his complete defeat following the second loss, and said his third loss was not a defeat by humans but by Lee Sedol. Overcoming a heavy pressure and burden for his victory, he finally gained the priceless win in the fourth match.
