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6/12/2017 – Garry Kasparov recently released his latest book called Deep Thinking, and was invited to make a presentation at the wonderful online resource TED. The theme was appropriately on the rise of machines, not just in areas such as chess, but how they are quickly encroaching on areas such as medicine and legal work. Instead of a doomsday speech, he reminds us that we should work with them, our creations, and use them to fulfill our dreams. Enjoy the video!

Full TED talk by Garry Kasparov

(runtime 15 minutes 20 seconds)

Here are a few excerpts:

(...)

I played two matches against the IBM supercomputer, Deep Blue. Nobody remembers that I won the first match

(laughter)

In Philadelphia, before losing the rematch the following year in New York. But I guess that's fair. There is no day in history, special calendar entry for all the people who failed to climb Mt. Everest before Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay made it to the top. And in 1997, I was still the world champion when chess computers finally came of age. I was Mt. Everest, and Deep Blue reached the summit. I should say of course, not that Deep Blue did it, but its human creators — Anantharaman, Campbell, Hoane, Hsu. Hats off to them. As always, machine's triumph was a human triumph, something we tend to forget when humans are surpassed by our own creations.

(...)

Machines have calculations. We have understanding. Machines have instructions. We have purpose. Machines have objectivity. We have passion. We should not worry about what our machines can do today. Instead, we should worry about what they still cannot do today, because we will need the help of the new, intelligent machines to turn our grandest dreams into reality. And if we fail, if we fail, it's not because our machines are too intelligent, or not intelligent enough. If we fail, it's because we grew complacent and limited our ambitions. Our humanity is not defined by any skill, like swinging a hammer or even playing chess.

There's one thing only a human can do. That's dream. So let us dream big.

For those who have not yet realize how far machines have come, consider the article this March in the New York Times explaining how legal offices are using AI to do paralegal work, such as search databases of cases and finding the one that matches the one being litigated, preparing memos, summaries, and more. Read the full New York Times article.

Garry Kasparov just released his latest book called Deep Thinking: Where machine intelligence ends and human creativity begins. It can be found at bookstores or online at e-tailers such as Amazon.

Needless to say, you can find several fantastic ChessBase DVDs authored by Kasparov. These include a three-part set on the Najdorf (How to play the Najdorf) as only he can do it (worth it just for his chess understanding), as well as one based on his autobiography (How I became World Champion Vol.1 1973-1985), with early games from his career from talented junior to world championship contender, which he recounts sometimes very emotionally.