We invented machines to help ourselves. But as they get smarter, machines are slowly overtaking us.
In the world of board-gaming, this has already happened in checkers and chess. Now it's happening with weiqi, or Go, a 4,000-year-old Chinese game that contains almost limitless possibilities.
VCG Photo
Next week, the world's best human weiqi player, China's Ke Jie, will face a challenge from AlphaGo, which last March beat South Korean grandmaster Lee Sedol.
Ke Jie is only 19 years old, but has the skills to become a "9 dan" - the highest rank available in the professional weiqi world.
Ke has already defeated Lee Sedol many times in recent years. When Lee lost to AlphaGo, Ke claimed "it can beat Lee, but may not be able to beat me." As AlphaGo evolves faster than a human however, by playing millions of matches a day by itself, Ke's claim may already be outdated.
Ke Jie shows up at the Lee Sedol vs. AlphaGo match in 2016. /VCG Photo
Apart from covering the three planned duels between Ke and AlphaGo on May 23-27, CGTN will also take to the streets to find out what everyone is thinking about the man vs. machine challenges.
Check the cover video to see if they think the same as you.
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