I have been trying to find this short story for years and after Lee SeDol defeated AlphaGo in game 4 yesterday, it really reminded me of it.
The story is about a Utopia that is computer controlled and the AI is considered almost infallible and runs all aspects of life in the city. If any citizen wishes to change the programming, they must challenge the computer to a contest. The challenge consists of 3(?) human vs computer tests. There is a catch though, if you win, you get to rewrite the programming, but if you lose, you are banished from Utopia forever.
Many years go by where no one has challenged the AI. Then one day, a citizen decides he wants to compete against the computer for the right to reprogram it. The first test is a hovercraft race.(not sure). I remember the human loses. The second one is to compose a symphony. The citizen composes a beautiful symphony but still loses. I can't remember the 3rd challenge but the human also loses.
The human challenger is banished forever but he doesn't regret it at all. This is because everyone in the city has a spring in their step because a human was able to compete so closely with the AI.
The cheers and applause that Lee SeDol received after game 4 really reminded of the end of this story. I really want to read it again! :)
Thank you for the help!
Edit: I think I read this short story in a science fiction anthology around 1997.
No comments:
Post a Comment