Hong Kong (CNN Business) A South Korean master of the ancient strategy game Go has announced his retirement from professional competition due to the rise of what he says is unbeatable artificial intelligence.

Lee managed to win one game out of five against Google's computer program — the only time it has been beaten in competition — but was ultimately defeated. Since then, AlphaGo has become even more advanced, beating other top players around the world

"With the debut of AI in Go games, I've realized that I'm not at the top, even if I become the number one through frantic efforts," Lee told South Korea's Yonhap news agency this week. "Even if I become the number one, there is an entity that cannot be defeated."

Lee told the news agency that his victory in 2016 was likely down to a bug in Google's code, after he used a move that could not be "countered straightforwardly" and the program responded in an unusual way that gave him an opening and eventually forced AlphaGo to surrender.

South Korean professional Go player Lee Se-dol attends a press conference after a match against Google's artificial intelligence program, AlphaGo on March 10, 2016 in Seoul, South Korea.

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