But an algorithm(算法) that can learn without guidance from people means that machines can be let loose on problems that people do not understand how to solve. Anything that boils down to an intelligent search through an enormous number of possibilities, said Mr Hassabis, could benefit from AlphaGo’s approach.

Advances in AI often trigger worries about human obsolescence(淘汰) DeepMind hopes such machines will end up as assistants to biological brains, rather than replacements for them, in the way that other technologies from search engines to paper have done. Watching a machine invent new ways to tackle a problem can, after all, help push people down new and productive paths. One of the benefits of AlphaGo, says Mr Silver, is that, in a game full of history and tradition, it has encouraged human players to question the old wisdom, and to experiment