Google’s AlphaGo might have bested the world Go champ - but Chinese netizens say it’s not smart enough to win at mahjong
China’s online censorship regime becomes target of jokes and mockery as netizens discuss the AlphaGo computer’s victory
First it was chess. Then it was weiqi, or Go. Now Chinese internet users are asking if artificial intelligence is up to the ultimate test: mahjong.
The challenge stems from a series of weiqi wins by AlphaGo, a computer program developed by Google.
But while some are genuinely wondering if the program can tackle one of China’s favourite pastimes, others are using it as a chance to mock China’s censorship of the internet.
AlphaGo has proved more than a match for some of the world’s best weiqi players, most recently besting South Korean master Lee Se-dol in three matches before Lee came through with a win.
Weiqi is a two-player game that is deceptively complex. Players take turns putting black and white stones on a board but there are hundreds of possible first moves and hundreds of possible responses.
Mahjong is usually played by four people who draw tiles from a 144-tile pool, discard or intercept others to form winning sets of tiles.