Computer Chess as a Roadmap for Deep Learning

Followed by a Grandmaster Simul

Thursday, Sept 27^th, 2018 @ 5:30pm * DC 1302/Fishbowl

In the formative years, the founders of Artificial Intelligence (AI) focused almost all of their efforts on the game of chess.  Creating a world class chess-playing machine, it was argued, would demonstrate conclusively that computers could think, could intuit, and might one day feel and emote like their creators.

Why did chess appeal to the first AI developers? 

Mainly because the complexities of the game necessitated the first heuristic algorithms: a way of orienting a continuously changing situation with many factors that could not be subjected to mechanical analysis.

In this talk, DarwinAI CEO Sheldon Fernandez will demonstrate how progress in this area – from the first, horribly weak programs to world class playing machines – echoes the trends we are now seeing in the realms of Machine Intelligence and Deep Learning.

And, in keeping with the ‘chessic’ trend of an evening, we have arranged for a fun twist as following the talk, Mark Bluvshtein, the youngest grandmaster in Canadian history, will give a ‘simul’ in which he’ll play 12-15 opponents at the same time.

So exercise your technical and game-playing muscle and join us for what promises to be an enjoyable evening!  Register at goo.gl/PHFrZj and email info@darwinai.ca  to participate in the simul. Free pizza will be provided.