Computers are only better than humans because we play on _their_ platform, ie. a computing platform. In real life they wouldn't be able to even recognize a chessboard, much less play it. So in truth computers are no better than humans when it comes to chess, quite the opposite.
Or prove me wrong and show me even one instance where a computer have beaten a human at _our_ platform, ie. a real-life scenario?
So my take on the whole issue is that machines' purported superiority vs. humans is only illusionary, not to mention the fact that it's we humans who have created the machines in the first place.
So I want to raise an alarm - however unpopular it may be in this age of artificial "intelligence" and it's unreserved glorification - that we as a specie don't put too much trust in technology and it's capability to safeguard our interests, lest we may some day find ourselves doomed to slavery under the dictatorship of masters we have ourselves created.
With current level of progress in image recognition systems and robotics, constructing an interface that would allow a computer engine playing chess in a "real-life" scenario is only a matter of investing the time and money to build such prototype. Definitely not something that should let us believe that engines only beat us "because we play on their platform".
> In real life they wouldn't be able to even recognize a chessboard
Scan through recent blogs here on lichess, one of them is about a software that allows to transform an image from a camera (e.g. a smartphone) recording an OTB game into a PGN transcript (possibly live). Reportedly it's not reliable enough yet but it seems to be just a hobby project, not a work of dedicated professionals.
At least one more forum post for the stats... *facepalm*
There were literally Thousands of Chess Tournaments in the 1980s that included Computers & their rating increased quickly around then by winning vs humans in over the board Chess . I was in the room when GM Bent Larsen became the first GM to lose to a Computer at the American Open in Los Angles in 1988 . Later Kasparov would lose to Deep Blue in the 1990s & then M Adams lost 6-0 a Match . Computers passed humans in Rating by so much they no longer played Matches or Tournaments & are rated about 500 points more than Carlsen maybe 600 or so nowadays
@chesseater78 ... You don't like computers because you believe they take away excitement' but Alekhine needed to HOLD Endgames (& win some) before he became Champion in 1927 against Capablanca & THE SAME can be said of Kasparov against Karpov . in 1984 there was a Match where Karpov had a 4-0 lead in after a few games played ... Many games later it was all tied but Kasparov had to Draw some 20 games in a row at one point . The Next YEAR Kasparov beat Karpov to become Champion of the world
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IIRC, there was a commercial chess playing computer that included an arm that would swing out and make the physical moves on a sensory board. I think it was made by Fidelity electronics, back in the 1980s. I have no idea why it didn't become more popular. Perhaps it was bad enough that the computer played stronger chess than most humans, but even worse that the machine acted more like a robot than a computer.
@chesseater78 said in #1:
> Computers are only better than humans because we play on _their_ platform
Actually, we play on a compromise between their and our platforms. If we played fully on their platforms as you say, we would manipulate bits with a magnetized pin to make our moves. I would argue that the way we play chess against computers is much closer to our native platform than theirs.
After all, there are quite a few people who prefer this interface (web or smartphone/tablet application) even for their games against other human players. And by "prefer" I actually mean "prefer", not just that they play more online out of necessity or due to lack of opportunities for OTB games. People who play online almost exclusively from the start often have a problem with orientation when they have to play on a physical board and find it easier to play on a screen.
