AI completely overwhelms human Go players

It was a dramatic incident that Alpha Go, an AI Go program defeated Lee Sedol, Korean Go champion, by four to one last Spring. Previously, AI Go was too weak to match a human professional player. But Alpha Go made a big progress in its quality within a short time.

My past entry: Alpha Go defeat human champion

And just recently, a mysterious Go player whose handle was "master" appeared at an online Go community. Master got a total of 50 winnings. The losers included Ke Jie, the first ranked in the Go community.

Everyone wondered the real face of Master. Some people suggested as a joke that he was Sai, a manga character in "Hikaru no Go."

And finally, Google revealed that Master was an improved version of Alpha Go.

TNW: Google secretly squared off its AI against leading Go players and it won by a landslide

It was not surprising according to Go players because AI Go players have different ways than humans. And the record of no defeat in 50 matches was incredible in human regardless of his or her skill.

Art Technica: That mystery Go player crushing the world’s best online? It was AlphaGo again

It is possible that Alpha Go made an evolution to the stage nobody can reach. But it is not surprising in my sense. Go is a game played on the field with 19 times 19 positions. No matter how it is large, the number of the patterns to be displayed on the field is countable. Counting is an expertise of computer.

Go is one of the most popular analog games in the world. AI will soon conquer Go itself. The next move will be Monopoly.

My past entry: Best strategy to win the Monopoly

Shortly, creating an AI program is paid attention as a skill of importance. And in the next era, anyone will develop AI for personal use, I believe.

Fluctuating Bitcoin

Yesterday, the market of Bitcoin had a historic movement.

The price of Bitcoin marked the highest ever as over as 150,000 JPY (1,300 USD). And soon after this, it fell by 30 % rapidly.

Recent Bitcoin market is so strong that its price has reached the level of that before Mt. Gox incident. In my sense, the recent rapid increase in its value was a fruit of overestimation. Thus, I prospected this falling movement. Nonetheless, it was surprising for me to see such a dramatic change.

Some Bitcoin users are excited to see this movement as it is the taste of Bitcoin. I agree with it. However, it is not favorable for Bitcoin to show such a fluctuating price. It brings fear to consumers, leading to hesitation from utilizing Bitcoin as a way of payment.

Chinese consumers may be responsible for this movement yesterday. It is said that approximately 90% of Bitcoin users is Chinese. As a result, the price of Bitcoin is deeply connected with the price of Renminbi. It means that the policy of Chinese government is quite influential to the stability of Bitcoin. If China regulates Bitcoin deals, its price will immensely fall. It is ironic that Bitcoin as a decentralized currency is under control of a particular government.

*Sequel

Britain EU ambassador quitted

Sir Ivan Rogers, Britain's EU ambassador, declared to quit his job.

Independent: Sir Ivan Rogers quits: Britain's EU ambassador attacks 'muddled' Brexit thinking in scathing resignation letter

It was scheduled for him to remain the seat of ambassador till this November. But he left the post all at sudden. His resignation letter suggests that he was suffering from continuous ignorance to his warning by the domestic authorities.

International Business Times: 'Never be afraid to speak the truth to those in power,' UK's departing EU diplomat tells colleagues

Rogers seemed to have had an opinion that the UK should not leave the EU. It is acceptable that he was mourning at the post to prepare for Brexit against his own ideology.

Some people claim that Rogers' resignation is not a tragedy but a chance to appoint a preferable person as his successor. Indeed, someone with an opinion of Eurosceptics would be motivated to be involved in the negotiation.

However, it must be a headache for Theresa May, the Prime Minister of the UK, to lose the ambassador who is skilled and familiar with the newest situation. Also, the UK seems to have few people with good leadership to integrate citizens' mind to Brexit, considering the current behaviors of Nigel Farage.

At last, Sir Tim Barrow officially succeeded Rogers' post.

Telegraph: Sir Tim Barrow will succeed Sir Ivan Rogers as Britain's ambassador to the EU

I think that the way to Brexit became more painful because of this incident.

Antibiotics in chicken hamburgers

Burger King banned antibiotics in the chickens of the hamburger.

The Guardian: Burger King to cut use of antibiotics in its chicken as part of superbug fight

Using antibiotics to kettles has been an issue for several decades. Once infectious diseases are spread in the farm, it inflicts a critical damage to consumers. Therefore, antibiotics were deemed as a necessary evil in stockbreeding.

However, recent overdosing of antibiotics brought a new problem: superbug. Some bacteria acquire resistance to antibiotics thanks to frequent exposure to them. Pharmaceutical companies develop new antibiotics one after another. But the evolution speed of bacteria is superior to the effort of researchers. Finally, the only solution to prevent the emergence of superbugs is refraining from the use of strong antibiotics, ironically.

The policy of Burger King seems rational. But it may be outdated. McDonald's and Wendy's have already adopted a more strict policy regarding antibiotics.

Reducing antibiotics is a not easy mission both in human and kettles. If big companies lead the anti-antibiotic trend, other companies are likely to follow it. I welcome Burger King's challenge, regardless of the magnitude.

Obama expels Russian diplomats

The Obama administration carried out the exile of Russian diplomats as a revenge of Russia's hacking against the previous presidential election.

Sydney Morning Herald: US expels 35 Russian diplomats, closes two compounds over election hacking

A total of 35 Russian diplomats were forced to return home from the Russian embassy in Washington. Also, two Russian compounds were shut down.

It was apparent that Russian government repeatedly tried to control the result of the US Presidential vote. Donald Trump, the Presidential-elect, is friendly to Russia for unknown reasons, while Hilary Clinton has a strong policy against Russia. Russia itself admitted it conducted some hacking activities on the US government. It is still unclear, however, Russia's attempt was successful.

Responding the US declaration, Russia requested the canceling of the decision, as claiming the sanction is illegal. But, Putin commented that Russia would not take revenge to the US regarding this issue.

The New York Times: Vladimir Putin Won’t Expel U.S. Diplomats as Russian Foreign Minister Urged

In my opinion, Obama administration took a wrong way to address this problem. First, there is no evidence suggesting Russia's interference has influenced the outcome of the Presidential vote. Otherwise, the US would resume the vote. Thus, this sanction is kicking-the-cat for the defeated Democratic Party. Second, Russia seems indifferent to the movement of the US. Obama administration is a Lame duck. Putin only has to wait for the inauguration of Trump. And finally, it is highly possible every nation frequently take cyber attacking. The CIA in the US is not an exception. If the US government was compromised by Russian cyber team, simple the US is too weak to survive the modern age.

Huis Ten Bosch for the first time

I visited Huis Ten Bosch for the first time last month.

Huis Ten Bosch is a theme park in Nagasaki Prefecture. Its land is the widest as a theme park in Japan.

Huis Ten Bosch

Huis Ten Bosch is featuring Netherlands and other European countries. Thus, you can eat delicious German sausages there. There are also some building in which chocolates and sponge cakes are focused in Huis Ten Bosch.

I enjoyed some amusements there. I was impressed to watch 3D holography. I misidentified the movie as if real singers were singing on the stage.

And I also entered a trick art museum.

It was extremely cold in the Icy Cafe.

Unfortunately, there were no splendid ride-machines such as Harry Potter's Forbidden Journey available in Universal Studio Japan. Instead, I saw a musical showdown exclusively played there.

At night, you can see 3D projection mapping scenes there. They were quite attractive. We will be able to see similar movies anywhere in the future, I expect.

Finally, I recommend you to visit Huis Ten Bosch in spring. Although it is a nice place in winter, you will find beautiful flowers all around there in spring.

My goal in 2017: Temperate

A happy new year!

As you know, I set my personal principle every year.

2009: Responsible
2010: Deepen, widen, and take care of myself
2011: Carry out
2012: Do well
2013: Take risks
2014: Do immediately and every day
2015: Forecasting
2016: Accept and stare

Last year, as I prospected, I had some bitter experiences. I accepted them as they belonged to me. As a result, I felt I became more tolerate.

And this year, my goal is to be temperate.

Actually, I am worrying about my physical health. I often overeat than I absorb. Binge eating habit will bring me some troubles. Therefore, I should keep adequate amount of food whenever I have meal.

As well, not being greed is important in my life for gaining others' trust. I want to be a man who always keep an eye to the circumstance around me, not only for myself but also everyone than me.