Google's AlphaGo A.I. beats world's number one in ancient game of Go

Wuzhen, China -- Computer 1, human 0. The rise of the machine was fully evident Tuesday when a Google computer beat the world's number one player of the ancient Chinese board game Go, signifying a major breakthrough in artificial intelligence.

Global champ Chinese player Ke Jie, lost his first game against Google DeepMind computer program AlphaGo in Wuzhen. With two remaining matches, Ke, 19, could still obliterate AlphaGo and take home $1.5 million in prize money, maintaining his status as the absolute best. But if he loses, that would solidify machine domination in one of the world's most complex games.

Despite defeat in the first match, "this is the greatest honor in a lifetime," Ke said of playing against AlphaGo.

Teaching computers to master Go has long been considered a holy grail for artificial intelligence scientists — there are more possible configurations of the board than there are atoms in the universe. Before this week, AlphaGo had already clocked many victories against top-ranked masters, a significant advancement that happened far sooner than experts expected.

"I've always been optimistic about how far we can go with AI," Dave Silver, lead programmer of AlphaGo at Google DeepMind, told CNBC. "But it happened faster than I think even I would have anticipated – we were able to really discover some beautiful and elegant algorithms … leading to some nice results against the world's strongest players."

This week's games between AlphaGo and Ke are being live streamed by Google online, but Chinese censors already block access to Google and its services, such as Gmail and YouTube, in the country.

Chinese state media outlets were also restricted by authorities from live broadcasting the game, and issued coverage guidelines ahead of the match, according to sources familiar with the matter, who declined to be identified on the record because they weren't authorized to speak in an official capacity.

It was unclear why, given that Go is a Chinese game, and Ke himself is Chinese, though it could be linked to the broader ban on Google in China. A Google spokesperson declined to comment.

The game, Go, originated thousands of years ago in China, and has two players taking turns placing black and white stones on a square board of 19 lines by 19 lines. The object is to take territorial control of the board by surrounding the opponent. Games can go on for hours, and playing requires immense mental stamina, intuition, and strategy.

AlphaGo was trained by studying how human experts have played in the past, Silver said. The program runs a very deep search, sometimes gaming out 50 moves into the future, and uses "this tree of possibilities to work out the best path that will lead to the best possible outcome," Silver said.

This is the kind of technology that Google DeepMind wants to apply elsewhere, to help humans figure out what present decision will lead to the best potential results.

"We're most excited about applying AI to science and medicine … using AI as a tool to improve scientific breakthroughs," Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind, told CNBC. "And also to improve healthcare and maybe eventually help with finding cures for diseases or medical diagnostics."

But scary machines aren't going to replace humans entirely just yet. As it stands, computer systems can't replicate things like human emotions and imagination. And Hassabis says there's a long way to go for machines to process higher cognitive functions, like memory, planning, and abstract reasoning.

Still, the technology has come a long way since the 1990s, when software programs first got smart enough to play classic board games, like backgammon. Things peaked with a historic victory of IBM's Deep Blue computer over world chess champion Gary Kasparov in 1997.

Though not a serious Go player -- Hassabis made his name in his early teens as a world chess champion -- even he hasn't tried to play against AlphaGo.

"There would be no point in me playing AlphaGo," he said. "It's way too strong for me."

Computer game could help children choose healthy food

A simple brain-training game could help children choose healthy snacks instead of chocolate and sweets, according to a new study.

Children who played a seven-minute game devised by University of Exeter psychologists made healthier choices when asked to pick foods afterwards.

The game involves reacting to images of healthy food by pressing a button, and doing nothing if unhealthy foods are shown.

"The sight of foods like chocolate can activate reward centres in the brain at the same time as reducing activity in self-control areas," said Lucy Porter, the lead researcher on the project.

"Our training encourages people to make a new association -- when they see unhealthy food, they stop.

"Many health promotion schemes rely on education and willpower and require a lot of time, staff and money, but our game potentially sidesteps these issues by creating a free, easy tool for families to use at home.

"The research is at an early stage and we need to investigate whether our game can shift dietary habits in the long-term, but we think it could make a useful contribution."

The researchers ran two experiments, and in total more than 200 schoolchildren aged 4-11 were shown images of healthy and unhealthy foods.

Alongside each image was a cartoon face -- happy for healthy food, sad for unhealthy food.

Children had to hit the spacebar when they saw a happy face, and do nothing if they saw a sad face -- they were not told that the game had anything to do with healthy or unhealthy food.

Afterwards, they played a shopping game where they had to choose a limited number of food items in one minute.

"We didn't see a total turnaround in favour of choosing healthy options, but these increased from about 30% of foods chosen to over 50% in children who did the brain training," said Porter.

"Age did not affect whether the game worked or not, meaning that children as young as four can benefit from playing.

Meanwhile children in control groups -- who were shown happy and sad faces mixed evenly between healthy and unhealthy foods, or images which were not food-related at all -- showed no change in food choices.

Similar research by the study's senior author, Dr Natalia Lawrence, has already led to the creation of an app which helps adults avoid unhealthy foods and lose weight.

"It's encouraging to see that this simple computer game has the potential to improve food choices in young children as well as in adults" she said.

"As we all know, it's incredibly important to encourage healthy eating habits from a young age; children in the UK eat on average three times too much sugar and not enough fruit and vegetables.

"This game is one simple and relatively fun way of trying to redress the balance."

Porter added: "This easy game does all the hard work for you. It's not about learning anything consciously, it's about working with automatic responses.

She acknowledges that some people might feel uneasy about this, but she explains: "Playing this game is optional -- unlike the constant stream of advertising designed to brainwash children.

"This game won't eliminate the effect of junk food advertising or price promotions, but it might give people a little bit of control back."

Playing a computer game nonstop is just an addiction

Dear Annie: I don't know what to do.

I recently retired. My husband is still working.

In the past few years, he has started playing a computer game. This is not one of the ones that involve other players; it involves only him.

At first, he did it for only an hour or two. Now he starts when he gets home from work and plays until bedtime, usually only stopping for dinner. On weekends, except for mowing the lawn and doing a few other tasks, he plays from morning until bed.

He has no interest in doing any of the things we used to do, and I am worried about the future when he retires.

We once talked about all the things we could do when we are both retired, but I can't see that happening anymore. He used to be good company; we used to go places and do things together. I have many interests and outside activities, but I miss the man I married. I am very sad and not looking forward to a future of this. He refuses to consider counseling, saying that I am the one with a problem.

I guess that is true, because he is apparently happy with the game. Do you have any suggestions? – Lonely

Dear Lonely: Your husband is playing a losing game with addiction.

Seeing as he's defensive and insistent that he doesn't have a problem, you might try shifting the focus to your marriage and the way his behavior is impacting you. Then suggest marriage counseling. An objective third-party might be the game changer he needs.

I would also recommend contacting On-Line Gamers Anonymous. It offers help for people in your position.

One of the first things it emphasizes is to stop enabling the gamer's problematic behavior. "This means refraining from doing anything that makes their life comfortable while they game, such as bringing them meals at the computer," the group says.

Dear Annie: I'm a woman in my early 50s. Eight years ago, I began having messy bathroom-related accidents in my car after eating in restaurants.

Doctors confirmed I had an allergy to gluten – which made sense, seeing as one of my parents has it and I had usually just consumed wheat before having an attack in the car.

Many restaurants and supermarkets are very accommodating. The hardest part is dealing with regular snide comments about my gluten-free diet – people saying I'm just being trendy and I'll get over it.

I'm sure a lot of people are avoiding wheat by choice, but some of us have to do it out of necessity. Please tell your readers to be more discerning. – Frustrated in Framingham

Dear Frustrated: It sounds as if the people making these remarks have some intolerance issues of their own. Gluten-related disorders, such as celiac disease, are very real.

Just because some fad dieters have gravitated toward a gluten-free trend doesn't make it OK to dismiss the issue. Your diet is between you and your doctor. If anyone else wants to judge you, he or she should first walk a mile with your stomach issues.

Dear Annie: There was no response to "Knight's" letter from you in our local paper, so I am sending one.

How chivalrous he is – and self-centered. Many men who "pay" expect something in return that a woman might not care to offer.

Quid pro quo.

This is not about commitment. It is about power, control, intimidation and manipulation.

Treating someone should not be about you; it should be about the other person.

If your date chooses to not accept your offer, it doesn't say anything about you; it says something about the comfort level of your date. – Not a Fan

How to earn money while playing games online

A Lebanese boy plays the computer game 'Special Force 2', inspired by last summer's war between Israel and Hezbollah, in a southern suburb of Beirut 23 August 2007. The computer game puts players in the role of a Hezbollah fighter on the front line of war with Israel, simulating raids into Israel to capture soldiers, battling tank movements in the valleys of south Lebanon and launching Katyusha rockets at Israeli towns.

Playing games have always been an interest for everyone at one point of time, but can you really get paid to play games? The answer is yes! Playing games online to get paid has become very popular. These games are web-based games that give anyone options to earn some extra cash just by playing online.

There are lists of websites that pay for playing your favorite games online as per Money Pantry.

Swagbucks - This website allows members to earn money by doing the things that they normally do on a daily basis. Out of these, gaming is an easy way to earn credits on Swagbucks. Users just need to log on to Swagbucks and start gaming, the more a user games the more Swagbucks are earned.

These Swagbucks can either be redeemed through Amazon gift cards or converted into cash to a PayPal account. This is one of the easiest ways to earn money by while playing games online.

Cash Dazzle - with several games available to play online Cash Dazzle games could bring its users prizes and cash on a daily basis.

LalaLoot - The games on LalaLoot are addictive and loads of fun to play, its users are required to view ads in order to collect tokens to play games for the first 5 days. There is also a draw that happens every day with a minimum of $10,000 prize money at stake as per Reviewopedia.

GSN World Winner - This particular website is not famous but is has simple options to earn money by playing games like Free Cell, 8-Ball Pool and Bejeweled 2.

Play and Win - Play and Win has the simplest games that could get you some extra money, by playing games like Backgammon, Bingo and Mahjong rewards are given according to the number of games won.

The best option for users to do is to sign up to all these websites in order to get different gift cards and prizes. The make it more interesting users can opt for cash, the internet has been providing easy options to earn money while just playing games online.

Nobody would have ever thought that they will get paid for gamming online. But with these options it can certainly be done and the best part is that all these websites are for free.

Is this computer game the most romantic marriage proposal of all time?

Finding the right way to pop the question isn't easy.

The story of how you proposed is told to friends and strangers for the rest of your lives, so you want to choose something that won't fall flat over the dinner table.           

And while some people choose to ask over candlelit dinners or iconic landmarks, one romantic developer decided to turn his proposal into a chance to build a customised computer game for his betrothed.

Austin Piech and Lauren Woodrick had been dating for a few years when he decided he wanted to take their relationship to the next level, so he decided to put together a playable proposal for his girlfriend to attempt to complete.

Piech posted a video of his ingenious proposal to YouTube, which has racked up almost 800,000 hits from impressed internet users.

Each level of the clever platform game features memorable moments from Piech's time dating his girlfriend - from their first date venue to holidays they'd taken together over the years.

According to the developer, his partner had no idea that the video game was a proposal - she thought she was just helping him to test out a new computer game he'd been working on.

As she navigates through each difficult level, the camera points out that the engagement ring is hidden behind the computer.

The final level of the game involves passing digital mariachis which, we are told, are 'playing' the same song Piech's grandfather proposed to his grandmother with.

Once she defeats the mariachi players, the credits reveal the message, 'It's dangerous to go alone. Take this!'

At this point, Piech pulls the ring out a ring which he hands over to his crying girlfriend. A tearful Lauren says yes, and the game becomes a success.

The viral video has gathered attention on Reddit today, with commenters remarking on the originality of the proposal.

'I'll marry you,' said user SupMatto.

'Best proposal i've ever seen, nice one bro,' agreed bakerXderek.

Thinking of popping the question? It might be time to book yourself into a coding class.