Blondie24: Playing at the Edge of AI (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Artificial Intelligence)

Blondie24 tells the story of a computer that taught itself to play checkers far better than its creators ever could by using a program that emulated the basic principles of Darwinian evolution--random variation and natural selection-- to discover on its own how to excel at the game. Unlike Deep Blue, the celebrated chess machine that beat Garry Kasparov, the former world champion chess player, this evolutionary program didn't have access to strategies employed by human grand masters, or to databases of moves for the endgame moves, or to other human expertise about the game of chekers. With only the most rudimentary information programmed into its "brain," Blondie24 (the program's Internet username) created its own means of evaluating the complex, changing patterns of pieces that make up a checkers game by evolving artificial neural networks---mathematical models that loosely describe how a brain works. It's fitting that Blondie24 should appear in 2001, the year when we remember Arthur C. Clarke's prediction that one day we would succeed in creating a thinking machine. In this compelling narrative, David Fogel, author and co-creator of Blondie24, describes in convincing detail how evolutionary computation may help to bring us closer to Clarke's vision of HAL. Along the way, he gives readers an inside look into the fascinating history of AI and poses provocative questions about its future. * Brings one of the most exciting areas of AI research to life by following the story of Blondie24's development in the lab through her evolution into an expert-rated checkers player, based on her impressive success in Internet competition. * Explains the foundations of evolutionary computation, simply and clearly. * Presents complex material in an engaging style for readers with no background in computer science or artificial intelligence. * Examines foundational issues surrounding the creation of a thinking machine. * Debates whether the famous Turing Test really tests for intelligence. * Challenges deeply entrenched myths about the successes and implication of some well-known AI experiments * Shows Blondie's moves with checkerboard diagrams that readers can easily follow. Blondie24 tells the story of a computer that taught itself to play checkers far better than its creators ever could by using a program that emulated the basic principles of Darwinian evolution--random variation and natural selection-- to discover on its own how to excel at the game. Unlike Deep Blue, the celebrated chess machine that beat Garry Kasparov, the former world champion chess player, this evolutionary program didn't have access to strategies employed by human grand masters, or to databases of moves for the endgame moves, or to other human expertise about the game of chekers. With only the most rudimentary information programmed into its "brain," Blondie24 (the program's Internet username) created its own means of evaluating the complex, changing patterns of pieces that make up a checkers game by evolving artificial neural networks---mathematical models that loosely describe how a brain works. It's fitting that Blondie24 should appear in 2001, the year when we remember Arthur C. Clarke's prediction that one day we would succeed in creating a thinking machine. In this compelling narrative, David Fogel, author and co-creator of Blondie24, describes in convincing detail how evolutionary computation may help to bring us closer to Clarke's vision of HAL. Along the way, he gives readers an inside look into the fascinating history of AI and poses provocative questions about its future. * Brings one of the most exciting areas of AI research to life by following the story of Blondie24's development in the lab through her evolution into an expert-rated checkers player, based on her impressive success in Internet competition. * Explains the foundations of evolutionary computation, simply and clearly. * Presents complex material in an engaging style for readers with no background in computer science or artificial intelligence. * Examines foundational issues surrounding the creation of a thinking machine. * Debates whether the famous Turing Test really tests for intelligence. * Challenges deeply entrenched myths about the successes and implication of some well-known AI experiments * Shows Blondie's moves with checkerboard diagrams that readers can easily follow Blondie24 tells the story of a computer that taught itself to play checkers far better than its creators ever could by using a program that emulated the basic principles of Darwinian evolution--random variation and natural selection--to discover on its own how to excel at the game. Unlike Deep Blue, the celebrated chess machine that beat Garry Kasparov, the former world champion chess player, this evolutionary program didn't have access to strategies employed by human grand masters, or to databases of moves for the endgame moves, or to other human expertise about the game of chekers. With only the most rudimentary information programmed into its "brain," Blondie24 (the program's Internet username) created its own means of evaluating the complex, changing patterns of pieces that make up a checkers game by evolving artificial neural networks---mathematical models that loosely describe how a brain works.It's fitting that Blondie24 should appear in 2001, the year when we remember Arthur C. Clarke's prediction that one day we would succeed in creating a thinking machine. In this compelling narrative, David Fogel, author and co-creator of Blondie24, describes in convincing detail how evolutionary computation may help to bring us closer to Clarke's vision of HAL. Along the way, he gives readers an inside look into the fascinating history of AI and poses provocative questions about its future.• Brings one of the most exciting areas of AI research to life by following the story of Blondie24's development in the lab through her evolution into an expert-rated checkers player, based on her impressive success in Internet competition.• Explains the foundations of evolutionary computation, simply and clearly• Presents complex material in an engaging style for readers with no background in computer science or artificial intelligence• Examines foundational issues surrounding the creation of a thinking machine• Debates whether the famous Turing Test really tests for intelligence• Challenges deeply entrenched myths about the successes and implication of some well-known AI experiments* Shows Blondie's moves with x checkerboard diagrams that readers can easily follow Front Cover......Page 1 BLONDIE 24: Playing at the Edge of AI......Page 6 Copyright Page......Page 7 CONTENTS......Page 12 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS......Page 14 INTRODUCTION......Page 16 PART 1: SETTING THE STAGE......Page 20 CHAPTER 1. INTELLIGENT MACHINES: IMITATING LIFE......Page 22 CHAPTER 2. DEEP BLUE: A TRIUMPH FOR AI?......Page 38 CHAPTER 3. BUILDING AN ARTIFICIAL BRAIN......Page 56 CHAPTER 4. EVOLUTIONARY COMPUTATION: PUTTING NATURE TO WORK......Page 88 CHAPTER 5. BLUE HAWAII: A NATURAL SELECTION......Page 104 CHAPTER 6. CHECKERS......Page 116 CHAPTER 7. CHINOOK: THE MAN–MACHINE CHECKERS CHAMPION......Page 132 CHAPTER 8. SAMUEL’S LEARNING MACHINE......Page 148 CHAPTER 9. THE SAMUEL–NEWELL CHALLENGE......Page 170 PART 2: THE MAKING OF BLONDIE......Page 180 CHAPTER 10. EVOLVING IN THE CHECKERS ENVIRONMENT......Page 182 CHAPTER 11. IN THE ZONE......Page 206 CHAPTER 12. A REPEAT PERFORMANCE......Page 232 CHAPTER 13. A NEW DIMENSION......Page 252 CHAPTER 14. LETTING THE GENIE OUT OF THE BOTTLE......Page 276 CHAPTER 15. BLONDIE24......Page 292 EPILOGUE: THE FUTURE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE......Page 318 APPENDIX: YOUR HONOR, I OBJECT!......Page 324 NOTES......Page 340 INDEX......Page 412 ABOUT THE AUTHOR......Page 424 "Meet Blondie, a twenty-four-year old graduate student in mathematics at the University of California at San Diego. She skis and surfs and is an ace at math, but her real claim to fame is her ability to play checkers. She's not good enough to defeat a grand master (yet), but she did earn a spot in the top 500 of an international checkers tournament. Not bad when you consider that Blondie taught herself how to play without reading books, taking classes, or getting tips from experienced players. Even better when you realize that Blondie is a computer program and the rest of her persona is a product of the author's imagination." "Blondie24 tells the story of a computer that taught itself to play checkers far better than its creators ever could by emulating the principles of Darwinian evolution and discovering innovative ways to approach the game. In this year of 2001, as we remember Arthur C. Clarke's predictions, David Fogel dramatically demonstrates how evolutionary computation may enable humans to create a thinking machine far more readily than the techniques traditionally used in the study of artificial intelligence."--Jacket "I'm sorry, Frank, I think you missed it," said the computer HAL to Dr. Frank Poole, its human challenger seated at the chess table.