Google has spent +/- $500m (through their acquisition of DeepMind) developing technology that can beat human beings at the game of Go. Here is why it matters:

- It is the third time (previously, DeepBlue vs Kasparov and IBM Watson vs human) that a game has been used to validate technological innovation. The 2,500 year-old Chinese game of Go, as compared to chess and jeopardy, is the most computationally demanding game played by human beings. The number of possible moves is astronomical, rendering it impossible for a computer to play by brute force computation of all possible outcomes.

- The program, named AlphaGo, is powered by two neural networks which do not require knowing the end sequence of a game to perform well. Something Google DeepMind’s CEO Hassabis refers to “imagination.” In practice, AlphaGo learns to distinguish a better move from a poorer one and to evaluate the overall strength of its position on the board by referencing an extensive database of configurations and games it has played against itself.

DeepBlue showcased computational horse power, IBM Watson showcased natural language processing and reasoning, AlphaGo showcases the ability to make good decisions without complete information. We’ll never have perfect information outside of a game, so this is an important milestone for machine intelligence being useful in the real world.

Google has kept pretty busy these first two weeks of February. In addition to AlphaGo, DeepMind has also developed an algorithms for 3D maze navigation and published a paper on how AI can get better at “seeing” the world by learning what to focus on. Finally, it was announced that its Search Organization — Google’s beating heart — will now be headed by Artificial Intelligence Boss John Giannandrea.

In hardware news, two American startups have made huge advances in developing tiny processing chips, which allow the various software programs outlined above to operate: MIT’s Eyeriss and Rigetti Computing among them. And the U.S. has expressed concerns over China’s drive to develop its own chips.

Other Intelligent Machines Headlines

From Intelligent Diagnostics to the Next Siri: 10 Early-Stage AI Startups to Watch

CB Insights used their Mosaic algorithm to identify promising startups advancing artificial intelligence.

Technical Debt Could Leave Machine Learning Bankrupt

Building systems that are outwardly simple but are in fact laden with a cascading, compounding set of potential problems.

Amazon’s Robotics Group is Working on a Mysterious Wireless Transmitter

Amazon’s robotics group submitted an FCC filing earlier this week that contains images of a device that could potentially be used to enhance the safety of its warehouse robots.

Rethink Robotics Announces Major Distribution Partnership in Germany

World-class automation providers Freise Automation and HAHN Robotics to deliver Sawyer robot to German manufacturers.

iRobot Sells Off Military Robotic Business

iRobot, creator of Roomba vacuum cleaner, sells Defense and Security business to Arlington Capital Partners.

US Government Agrees Algorithms Are Real Drivers Behind Google Cars, not Humans

Google has convinced part of the US government that its computer algorithms are the actual drivers in its car.

Swiss Considering $3.4 Billion Cargo Tunnel for Automated Delivery Trucks

Cargo Sous Terrain presenting a feasibility study in Zurich detailing an underground cargo plan.

This Uncrushable Robot Cockroach Just Wants to Rescue You

Researchers at Berkeley think that this robot cockroaches could be the ideal way to reach survivors buried under debris.

DARPA’s New Neural Implant Has a Sneaky Way of Getting Inside Heads

DARPA is determined to develop brain-machine interface technology that will help amputees or people with paralysis regain lost movement.

Intelligent Machines Funding, January 25 — February 10 2016

Comet Labs Portfolio News

Hello Drones! Welcome to the Work Force

Matternet, a startup in Mountain View, has used drones to deliver payloads weighing up to two pounds to clinics and hospitals in the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

HWTrek to Host Asia Tour for Hardware Innovators of Internet of Things, Wearable and Robotics Devices

The global open innovation platform is now accepting applications for its Innovation Tour 2016, taking place April 25–29 in Shenzhen and Beijing.

Alibaba Arm Seeks to Use Police Face Scans for Banking

Alibaba is planning to use Megvii’s Face++ facial recognition system to scan faces for its banking division AliPay.

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