Garry Kasparov's 'Deep Thinking' and the future of 'Man v/s Machines'!

I was in my first year of engineering in May 1997 when the rematch between Garry Kasparov and Deep Blue was held in NY. Being novices in the field of Comp Science, we were very enthusiastic to know each and every happening in the world of computers. I remember those discussions we used to have in the hostel mess and in college, intently following the Chess matches between a Human genius and a super computer. We were both shocked and amazed when Garry Kasparov lost and Deep Blue was declared the winner. We thought for ourselves and opined that Computer Science has indeed a bright future 😇

Reading 'Deep Thinking' was a journey not just into the past but also a lesson in how to adapt to changing times in the present and future from the man who has seen machine intelligence from up close. 

Chess was our pastime during train journeys between Mysore to Bengaluru and consequently kept track on most of the things that was happening in the chess world too. Kasparov was an idol for us and his loss to a computer was discussed for weeks. While most students from other branches fretted at the results, we the students of Computer science trotted around with a halo. Our take was machine intelligence is the future and we will embrace it. 

Garry says as much in his book but goes beyond his matches with Deep Blue and gives us a peek into the way he prepared for the matches and the way he dealt with the results post the matches. What's most interesting and intriguing in his book is that while he expresses his wariness of the machine and that way it was spruced up by IBM, he is really in awe of the computer, its ability to play Chess, and gives us an insight into the different types of algorithms that make up such chess engines. Out of the two major types of algorithms that were prevalent then for Chess engines, Type 'A' which relied on brute force and Type 'B' which went for intelligent search, Deep Blue had chosen Type A. Hence the super computer was programmed to make best use of its processors and hardware and by 1997 it could evaluate 200 million positions on the chess board per second! This was twice as fast as the 1996 version that had lost to him. 

Kasparov, as per his own admission, lost to Deep Blue in 1997 due to a host of reasons including unfavorable advantages machines naturally have, IBM's mean attitude, his own mistakes in preparations and finally the most important one: Fatigue! Yes, human beings including all chess grandmasters are susceptible to mental and physical exhaustion but a machine is not. You can study the expressions on your human opponents face and gauge their mood. You can force them to make mistakes using baits. You can plan mind games before the matches in public or in the media. But a chess computer isn't vulnerable to any of these human traits. And to top this, Kasparov was up against a machine that could calculate 200 million positions on the board while he was purely dependent on his skills and experience. Did he even stand a chance? Reading the book I could sense that Garry believed that with a little more preparation he could have defeated Deep Blue in 1997. But he readily admits that as computer science advanced, it became almost impossible to defeat a machine in the game.

Deep Blue was immediately dismantled and given away to the museum. There was no rematch which Kasparov requested. Whether IBM cheated then and hence wanted to hide their tracks or not is immaterial as Kasparov himself admits that by the time he would be ready for another match, the computer would have become stronger and meaner and deeper. The beauty of 'Deep Thinking' is that Kasparov despite his loss does not cut a sorry figure nor does he paint a gloomy 'Machines will takeover' scenario. All he does is to educate the reader about adapting the inevitable. Rather than making it 'Man v/s Machines' he calls for 'Man plus Machines'. That for sure won my heart. I was expecting that he might call for humans to be wary of the machines, instead he beautifully explains the way humans have a tendency to adapt and how it wont be any different with the machines. 

Fathom this. When Kasparov lost to Deep Blue, the doomsayers predicted that the game of chess between humans would die within the next few years as machines would take over the game and humans would lost interest. Has it happened? No. Have machines taken over chess or any other game? Big No! Infact, after more than 2 decades, computers are helping budding chess enthusiasts in understanding the game better and aiding grandmasters in preparing well. Machines and computers are still being programmed by humans and artificial intelligence is aiding humans lead a better life.

Will machines one day develop intelligence as humans have and use it for their own purpose is a subject of science fiction as of today. Even if it comes true in our lifetime, there is no rule that we cannot co-exist and have to be adversaries. Humans have adapted to varying conditions around them for millions of years. Adapting to machines, which is their own creating shouldn't be difficult unless we do not take necessary precautions. When the time comes for machines to develop their own intelligence and they start to think, what purpose would we have given them? Would we have passed on our best cultures or would we have passed on our worst traits? It depends on us. 

Kudos to Garry Kasparov for rekindling this important debate of our lives using his own experience with 'intelligent' machines. 'Deep Thinking' forces us to think about our relationship with machines and both warns us and educates us. The fascinating insights he gives us on the development of chess engines and AI in general is both a lesson in history and information for the future. In show of great attitude, Kasparov shows us a optimistic future instead of being cynical of the opponent who defeated him. 

Most importantly, through 'Deep Thinking', Kasparov attempts to drive home one more important point - That, human thinking starts where machine intelligence ends. That's the crux of the entire book for me. There might be more 'Deep Blue's, many more super computers. Machines could become intelligent and starting thinking. Science fiction could become a reality. But amidst all this, what do we humans do? Do we stop thinking and become dependent on machines from now? Will we allow machines to do the thinking for us from the days of smart phones? We already have allowed our smart phones to takeover our lives in terms of planning, communication and even managing relationships. Instead of using technology to aid us, we are increasingly becoming dependent on them. If this continues, is there any logic in complaining that machines could takeover our lives? It is we who are showing the tendency to give away our lives to machines much before machines start demanding and convert us into a 'cell' (remember Matrix!). So what is that we need to be wary of? 

Human thinking includes being creative in handling our lives. As Kasparov rightly and very importantly writes, "Human creativity begins where Machine intelligence ends". As he says, let us use the time spared for us by the use of machines by being creative in our lives. "Machines have instructions while we have purpose", he writes. It is our creativity that defines our purpose. So let us be creative rather than being dependent on apps for planning, let us depend on communicating in person rather than messaging and let us build lasting relationships in real world rather than being 'friends' or 'followers' online. This is my understanding and the message Kasparov too attempts to drive home.

Finally, this is a work that anyone interested in technology and AI should read. Kasparov was one of the greatest chess players and Deep Blue was one of the greatest chess engines. Understanding both can give the perspective we need on humans and machines and Kasparov has done just that with this book. It was a journey into the past, mirror to the present and a glimpse into the future. Go ahead and buy a copy blindly. I assure that you will not regret 👍