Smart machines, dumb people

Impervious to objective measurement, intelligence is nevertheless a quality which can be easily recognized by its presence - or absence. At the highest levels, it can be used to create another intelligence, itself capable of presenting its creator with entertainment and challenge. At less lofty heights it can, by its underutilization, create challenges of a distinctly different sort - challenges whose entertainment value comes strictly with the detachment that accompanies a pie in someone else's face. This week's sites have almost nothing in common, save that they represent opposite ends of this continuum - and for the visitor, they also demonstrate that you don't always have to be a genius to enjoy a nice game of chess, but sometimes you do have to be smarter than the manual to know how something works.

The first site on offer is an example of an IQ that's in the black - Thinking Machine 4 is a Java-powered, online chess game with a few important differences from others of its kind. First, it's not a spectacularly skillful, Java-powered, online chess game, so there's a reasonable chance that humans will be able to beat it. Second, it very kindly - and artfully - shares its own thought process with opponents before each move. (A helpful courtesy that might actually prove distracting enough to get you off your own game.)

Created as an interactive artwork to explore, "the invisible, elusive nature of thought," Thinking Machine 4 is played onsite, without requiring any downloads, plug-ins, or complicated instructions - other than the rules of the game itself. (For the curious, the histories of Thinking Machine numbers 1-3 are briefly covered on the site's Play The Game page.) Upon loading the chessboard, and each time it waits for an opponent to make a move, the Java applet displays a series of concentric rings emanating from the various pieces, mapping out each piece's "sphere of influence." (The computer always plays Black, and so always moves second.) After you make a move, the applet then begins to draw a series of lines across the board - as the computer sifts its way through each possible move and the potential consequences of that action several turns ahead. (The computer's moves are displayed in orange - with brighter oranges denoting preferred options - and White's projected responses appearing in green.)

It's a fascinating process to watch - probably even more so for those with a better understanding of chess. And not only does this bit of strategic sketching make the computer's decision making process more accessible than viewing the decision trees that were presumably used in creating the applet, the lines themselves appear very "human" - appearing in the likeness of hand drawn strokes rather than bold, geometric lines, and fading into view rather than simply appearing in an on/off fashion. (If you'd rather just have a look at some of the software's artworks without playing along, the site offers a few game-in-progress screen captures in its Image Gallery.)

Page: 1 | 2