Demis Hassabis, the "father of AlphaGo," and world Go champion Shin Jin-seo 9-dan played a special match to commemorate the 10th anniversary of AlphaGo.
The AlphaGo 10th anniversary event, "A Decade with AlphaGo: An Extraordinary Journey," was held Wednesday at the small banquet hall on the second floor of the Westin Josun Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul.
The event was attended by Korea Baduk Association Secretary General Yang Jae-ho, Professional Go Players Association Chairman Cho Han-seung, and Shin Jin-seo 9-dan, along with Google DeepMind co-founder and CEO Demis Hassabis, Google DeepMind Research Scientist Aja Huang, and Fan Hui 2-dan.
The event was organized to reflect on the changes Go and artificial intelligence have created together over the 10 years since AlphaGo's emergence in 2016, and to explore the direction humans and AI should take forward together.
In his congratulatory speech, Korea Baduk Association Secretary General Yang Jae-ho said, "The 2016 match between AlphaGo and Lee Sedol 9-dan remains vividly in our memory with amazement and shock. On behalf of the Go community, I extend deep gratitude to CEO Demis Hassabis."
In his commemorative address, Hassabis said, "I thank you for the warm welcome, and looking back, AlphaGo was the starting point of the modern AI era." He added, "I am truly delighted to play against Shin Jin-seo 9-dan. Tremendous changes will come over the next 10 years, and I hope Go, with its remarkable potential, will continue to contribute to the expansion of AI at the forefront."
In the commemorative match, Hassabis faced the current world's top player Shin Jin-seo 9-dan across the board. The match was held as a friendly event symbolically showcasing the decade of change since AlphaGo, with Hassabis playing black and Shin playing white.
Hassabis demonstrated the 3-3 invasion, a representative AI technique, while Shin played a move (the 18th move) similar to AlphaGo's innovative "37th move" shown in its second game against Lee Sedol 9-dan, displaying the advanced level of human Go compared to 10 years ago. The match ended at the 29th move as the 10-minute time limit expired. After the match, the two left their autographs on the Go board, adding meaning to the AlphaGo 10th anniversary event.
The subsequent discussion was held under the theme "10 Years After AlphaGo: The Next Move for Humans and AI." Hassabis spoke about the changes AI has brought to the world since AlphaGo and its future direction of development from the perspective of a researcher who created artificial intelligence, while Shin shared his thoughts on the adaptation process amid change and the unique value of humans as a player who actually uses and faces AI.
In the discussion, Shin said, "It was an honorable time, and as befits the father of AlphaGo, he has high-level skills resembling AI." He added, "Since even AI has not yet uncovered the answer to Go, I will strive to continue playing my own Go while working with AI to play more advanced Go 10 years from now."
Hassabis responded, "It was an honor for me too, and his skills were so strong that it was frightening. I needed AlphaGo." He continued, "The AI era is expected to arrive within five years, bringing major changes to daily life. If I come back to Korea 10 years from now, I hope we will have developed treatments for serious diseases using AI, and I believe Korea will make significant contributions to the advancement of AI."
The Korea Baduk Association presented Hassabis with an official amateur 7-dan certificate and traditional Korean tea as a token of gratitude to the CEO who opened a new era of Go, and Google DeepMind presented a plaque of appreciation to the Korea Baduk Association.
