Go outside and play
Computer technology threatens basic interaction
AARON COOPER is a
senior English major and
a Daily Nebraskan colum
nist.
In February 1996, an unprece
dented event occurred. For the first
time in history, an IBM-built super
computer known as Deep Blue
became the first computer to partici
pate in world chess tournament com
petition. Its opponent, Gary
Kasparov, is revered by many chess
experts as the greatest player in his
tory.
In a six-game bout for Master of
the Universe, Kasparov emerged vic
torious with a score of 4-2 spread
over three wins, two draws, and one
loss.
Many people in the computer
industry were stunned. An article in
Popular Science had predicted
Kasparov would be defeated by the
IBM supercomputer.
As scholars, scientists and com
puter aficionados chewed on the
results of this first battle, IBM and
Kasparov wasted no time in schedul
ing a rematch for May 1997.
i ne rematch tavored the IBM
supercomputer and its large team of
technicians and programmers in a
second six-game bout. With a score
of 3.5-2.5, Deep Blue emerged vic
torious after game six on May 11,
1997, after pulling off two wins,
three draws (at half a point each) and
one loss. IBM was awarded a first
prize of $700,000 by tournament
heads to Kasparov’s mere $400,000.
Somewhere in the middle of the
excitement, buried beneath debates
between chess enthusiasts and heads
of large computer conglomerates,
the meaning of the competition got
lost.
It’s important to understand the
nature of die matchup. On one hand,
there was the human - a single man
with superior talent and understand
ing of the game of chess, who repre
sented the preservation of human
intelligence and its place in society.
On the other hand, there was
Deep Blue - a supercomputer built
by dozens of computer technicians
and programmers, which implement
ed advanced properties of parallel
processing and operated on a
master control program with
the following compo
nents:
■ A brute force
search for mate positions
■ Defensive target
programming and threat
detection
■ Delta discard logic
based on the
“Encyclopedia
of Chess
Openings”
■ The
added logic
provided by
anonymous
Grandmasters of
chess
■
Additional
heuristic
(discovery)
methods
allowing the supercomputer to be
modified between games by the pro
gramming staff in the attempt to
defeat the opponent’s chessplay.
Where did the advantage lie? You
be the judge.
I felt that something, a truly
humanistic quality, was lost - not
only in the original idea of spending
years to build a “chess” computer
designed solely to beat a
Grandmaster, but also in the fact that
Kasparov lost the rematch.
Technology was used to abuse a
portion of humanity. It was taken too
far. IBM proved computers can, bar
ring certain variants and conditions,
outperform humans in such basic
and traditional rituals as chess.
What does this prove? Involving (
such substantial resources to build
Deep Blue, the entire competition
seems worthless unless we have
gained something from it.
One of the earliest purposes for
the design and perfection of parallel
processing supercomputers was for
military intent. Deep Blue was
thought by industry experts to have
been based on the SP/4-x
Supercomputer Complex which was
designed by contractors working for
the United States Air Force and
Space Command, also built by IBM
miyyj.
It was designed with intent of
analyzing tens of thousands of strate
gic moves in warfare and combat sit
uations for potential use in a state of
battle.
I can award greater merit in the
use of supercomputers for this pur
pose, albeit one of possible defeat
and destruction. Yet, there seems to
be an underlying danger even in this
scenario. The goverament/military
might rely too heavily on computers
in combat situations, and, in the
process, spend less time drawing
from and perfecting human theories
and tactics.
If supercomputers and personal
computers (which perhaps are more
relevant to us) govern too many
aspects of our daily lives, we risk
reaching the point where we may
cease to function without the
Internet or personal and business
related financial programs that only
function through the use of comput
ers.
Think of all the things Deep
Blue’s programmers and computer
scientists could have spent
their immeasurable
time and
energy
°n IL
Perhaps they could have worked
with NASA in perfecting the func
tion and detailed mathematical pro
cedures required to safely pilot and
maintain an operating spaqe shuttle.
Sure, there are many people dedicat
ed to these tasks, but like cancer and
AIDS research, the more people
involved the better.
A lot of people dismiss aspects
of pure scientific research such as
that carried out by S.E.T.I., the
Search for Extraterrestrial
Intelligence, to be worthless and a
waste of time. To me, that seems a
far more ambitious and centrally
human pursuit of information and
increased understanding than a
bunch of people building a glorified
chess robot.
At least listening and scanning
for extraterrestrial life has the poten
tial to increase our knowledge of the
universe and build human (or
unknown) connections we have yet
to comprehend.
computer science ana tecrmolo
gy move quickly and set things such
as the Internet, super-fast computers
and DVD videos in our laps.
Do you want to see the day when
you don’t have to leave your living
room to do your grocery shopping,
pick up your mail, talk to your neigh
bor, or even have your children get
an education without physically
attending school?
It could be a reality faster than
we think and, in some cases, already
is.
Personally, I want my children to
be able to speed through supermar
ket aisles on shopping carts and bang
into my heels. I want them to know
what a playground is and learn how
to write letters.
I want them to experience and
interact with the world outside their
front door, talk to their neighborhood
friends and citizens in their commu
nity, and interact with their peers
face-to-face so that “going out to
play” doesn’t turn into staying in and
interacting merely through video
phones, interconnected video games
and pagers.
Cooper’s Law: We owe it to
future generations to improve our
world without bulldozing through
common logic and losing a sense of
who we are.
We owe it
to ourselves.
Robb Blum/DN
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Pulliam Journalism Fellowships
Graduating college seniors are invited to apply for the 26th annual
Pulliam Journalism Fellowships. We will grant 10-week summer
internships to 20 journalism or liberal arts majors in the August 1998
June 1999 graduating classes. , -;5
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Previous internship or part-time experience at a newspaper is desired.
Winners will receive a $5,250 stipend and will work at either The
Indianapolis Star and The Indianapolis News or The Arizona
Republic.
Early-admissions application postmark deadline is Nov. 15, 1998. By
Dec. 15, 1998, up to five early-admissions winners will be notified.
All other entries must be postmarked by March 1, 1999.
To request an application packet, write: Russell B. Pulliam
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P.O. Box 145
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