On the evening of our wedding anniversary:
Me and hubby were watching an interesting documentary at home.
It was about an artist competing against a computer to see whether computers had reached the point where they could beat humans at art.
It wasn’t your average traditional art.
No drawing.
No painting.
No wood carving or scrolling.
But:
It was the art of…
… chess!
Well, a variation of chess anyway… called GO. Basically it’s a strategy game where the only pieces are black and white stones. With the objective being to capture more territory than your opponent.
It’s infinitely more complex (and creative) than chess.
And for the longest time, no one could develop a computer program that could beat a top level pro at the game.
Until 2016, when Google developed the AlphaGo program that beat the world’s greatest Go genius, Lee Sedol.
Honestly:
I knew that the documentary had won a lot of awards. But a game of Go? I thought it was gonna be boring.
How wrong I was.
And it gave me a lot of insights into a different kind of art. And how machines are slowly eclipsing people even in the most creative pursuits.
But what amazed me the most:
It wasn’t the fact that the machine beat the man.
While everyone else in the film was focusing on an epic battle of man versus machine (the heartbreak was apparent when man lost, the joy of victory was clear when man won), my focus flew away to somewhere very different.
What I saw was not a machine.
But rather, a product that was created by the intelligent minds of hundreds of people… pouring out their knowledge and skills into a single pursuit.
That’s what defeated the man.
Not the machine itself, but the unity of a hundred men.
It got me thinking:
Instead of pouring all that intellectual effort into making a machine that could defeat a person at the most creative of pursuits, what if…
… we took those hundreds of men and…
… used their skills and intellect…
… and poured it all into the development of…
… a single person!
Would we get the next Captain America?
Or maybe even another Leonardo da Vinci?
Well, only time will tell.
I don’t know of any computers intelligent enough yet to create the beautiful wreath borders I illustrate though (fortunately). A lot of people probably wish we could have one in every home. My hubby would probably love creating one. But we aren’t there… yet!
(* wipes sweat away)
So for now:
You’re stuck with me.
And my store.
And the lovely stuff in my store. 馃檪
Which you may or may not be happy about.
But I’m definitely glad that I haven’t gotten replaced yet.
Phew…
Sincerely,
Aurelia Nobleia
“Still Irreplaceable”
