If computers cannot think how did Deep blue of IBM defeat world chess champion Gary Kasparov in 1997 is such a defeat possible find some recent information about machine playing against humans?

Answer 1

Computers can follow lists of instructions written to solve certain kinds of problems given to it. They can decide, for example, which of 2 different numbers is larger than the other, and then decide which instructions to follow next depending on the answer. Chess is a very complex game, but asolute basic concepts can be learned by almost anyone. The complexity comes with the staggering number of possibilities for fair moves at any given moment. The capacity of Big Blue to store moves and to search down millions of possible game pathways rapidly is the kind of thing computers are built to do. It would be surprising if we couldn't come up with such a device. I think it is miraculous that a human mind not specifically wired or programmed to analyze and store millions upon millions of chess options with perfect accuracy can even challenge a machine like Big Blue, let alone win. Keep in mind that setting Big Blue up to play chess is different from saying "Big Blue, can you tell us how the universe began or at least give us a novel working theory? Or, would you talk with me about my 10 page essay on the rhythmic structures used in the poetry of William Butler Yeats? Or how about: What is your opinion on the Iraq War and the best strategies for ending it? The only responses Big Blue could give you are responses given to it by people.