104-2 Week5:How AlphaGo defeated a go master

When South Korean go champion Lee Sedol lost his first game to AlphaGo, the whole world was shocked. It was more than just a game of go: It was a milestone in the development of artificial intelligence (AI).

Exactly how did AlphaGo do it? Why were the go programs that came before unable to do it? And how human-like is this AI? Cognitive psychology might offer some interesting insights on the issue.

Since the 1940s, psychologists have been studying people who excel in certain areas, hoping to understand their psychological structure and explain their development. The first research of this kind focused on chess experts, where cognitive psychologists compared chess experts and chess rookies, and were surprised to find they are not very different. Experts are just faster at finding the right move, and the reason has nothing to do with their intelligence or memory capacity, but their advanced ability to recognize patterns on the chess board.

When looking at the pieces in a game, those who excel at chess memorize the pattern they present, which includes the correlations between various pieces. These correlations can reveal the intentions and strategies of a chess player. As a chess player gains more experience, they also become better at reading and memorizing the patterns, so that when a familiar pattern shows up, an expert can immediately predict the ensuing development of the game based on experience. Rookies, on the other hand, cannot see the relations between the pieces in a game. To them, the way the pieces are placed on the board is random. As a result, they often misjudge a situation.

AlphaGo is different from AIs of the past in a number of ways. First, it uses neural networks to recognize patterns. Neural networks are superior to traditional AI, because they can accumulate and learn from their own experiences. In addition to remembering shapes, they can extract patterns from those shapes, and they can also use Monte Carlo methods — computational algorithms used to obtain results from random sampling — to assist their strategic choices. This means that AlphaGo can make decisions based on shapes and patterns to analyze the situation and make an assessment of which move would increase the possibility of victory.

These mechanisms are characteristics of human cognitive systems, but in addition to relying on these two mechanisms, AlphaGo also possesses computing power that far exceeds the human brain.

We have limited cognitive sources at our disposal. For example, “1+1=?” is a simple problem, but many people would find “12345+56789=?” to be a bit of a challenge. Working memory span — the longest list of items a person can remember correctly immediately after having been presented with the list — is an indicator of cognitive resources, and just like a computer’s random-access memory, this is the brain’s platform for processing information. It is limited in size, and the more complex a task, the more cognitive resources it uses up, and this has a direct effect on how fast and how accurate human calculations are. Compared with AlphaGo, Lee’s greatest weakness was that he is human, and thus is restricted by his working memory span.

Although Lee is also capable of analyzing a situation and then arriving at an estimate, his working memory span is limited, and that affects the number of moves available for him to choose from. From this perspective, AlphaGo is indeed different from humans, but in the field of AI, similarity to humans is not necessarily the main point. Instead, the goal is to create a robot capable of displaying intelligence.

From this perspective, AlphaGo clearly set a new milestone in the field of AI, although the very fact that its intelligence surpasses the human brain shows that it is not sufficiently human. For humans to be able to beat it, perhaps it must be made more human.

Structure of the Lead:

WHO- Lee Sedol, AlphaGo

WHEN-not given

WHAT-When South Korean go champion Lee Sedol lost his first game to AlphaGo

WHY-not given

WHERE-Seoul, Korea

HOW-not given

keywords:

correlation  相關

algorithm 算法

assessment 評定

cognitive 認知

indicator 跡象

104-2 Week4:Cold weather brings snow to nation

RECORD LOWS:With thermometers registering just 4 ºC in Taipei, it was the lowest temperature recorded in the capital in 44 years and the second-lowest ever

A rare sight of snow wowed people nationwide yesterday, from Taipei to Pingtung County.

Under the influence of a strong cold air mass, many places in Taiwan — even those located at an altitude of only 400 m to 500 m — received a covering of snow or soft hail overnight, exciting locals, who likely have never seen snow in real life since they were born.

Despite low temperatures, people were seen swarming to elevated areas, including Keelung’s 726 m-high Jiangziliaoshan (姜子寮山), Taipei’s Yangmingshan (陽明山) and New Taipei City’s Linkou (林口) and Pinglin (坪林) districts, to appreciate the natural beauty of the snow.

As of yesterday morning, the accumulated snow had reached 20 cm in Taoyuan’s Lalashan (拉拉山) Forest Recreation Area.

The Motian (摩天嶺-) mountain area along the Southern Cross-Island Highway also reported showers of snow started at 4 am yesterday, as well as on Yunlin County’s Jiananyun Peak (嘉南雲峰), where snow began falling at about 11 am yesterday at an altitude of about 1,500 m.

Under the influence of a cold air mass, the outlying island group of Penghu experienced soft hail yesterday morning.

Pingtung County’s Dawushan (大武山) also reported soft hail from halfway up the mountain to the summit at midnight on Saturday.

The Central Weather Bureau said 27 weather stations in different parts of Taiwan registered their lowest temperatures yesterday.

The temperature in Taipei fell to 4 ºC, the lowest level detected in the capital in 44 years and the second-lowest since 3.2 degrees was recorded in 1972.

It was minus-3.1 ºC in the Yangmingshan area, 5.8 ºC in Yilan County’s Suao (蘇澳), and 4.2 ºC in Taoyuan’s Sinwu District (新屋) — all new lows for these places. In New Taipei City’s Banciao District (板橋), it was 3.8 ºC yesterday morning — the second-lowest level in history.

The temperature in Taipei is forecast to dip to 3 ºC early today, while central and southern regions are expected to experience temperatures of 4 ºC and 6 ºC respectively, the bureau said.

Chances of precipitation are expected to be low across the nation today, apart from in mountainous regions higher than 600 m.

The bureau urged people to be aware of icy road conditions.

The bureau has issued special warnings for low temperatures and heavy rain across Taiwan, urging the public to take precautions and keep warm before the cold wave leaves Taiwan tomorrow, when temperatures across the nation are expected to rebound noticeably.

Structure of the Lead:

WHO- not given

WHEN-Mon, Jan 24, 2016 

WHAT-the influence of a strong cold air mass

WHY-not given

WHERE-in Taiwan

HOW-not given

keywords:

swarming 蜂擁

elevated 提高的

accumulate 積累的

halfway 半路

summit 頂端

respectively 分別

precipitation 降水

precaution 預防

rebound 彈回

104-2 Week3:North Korea claim of hydrogen bomb test condemned

North Korea yesterday said it successfully tested a miniaturized hydrogen nuclear device, claiming a significant advance in its strike capability and setting off alarm bells in Japan and South Korea.

The test, the fourth time the state has exploded a nuclear device, was ordered by young leader Kim Jong-un and successfully conducted at 10am, the official Korean Central News Agency said.

“Let the world look up to the strong, self-reliant nuclear-armed state,” Kim wrote in what North Korean state TV displayed as a handwritten note.

The reported nuclear test drew condemnation abroad.

While a fourth nuclear test had been long expected, the claim that it was a hydrogen device, much more powerful than an atomic bomb, came as a surprise, as did the timing.

However, South Korean intelligence officials and several analysts questioned whether yesterday’s explosion was indeed a full-fledged test of a hydrogen device.

The device had a yield of about 6 kilotonnes, according to a South Korean lawmaker on the parliamentary intelligence committee — about the same size as the North’s last test, which was equivalent to 6 to 7 kilotonnes of TNT.

“Given the scale, it is hard to believe this is a real hydrogen bomb,” said Yang Uk, a senior research fellow at the Korea Defense and Security Forum and a policy adviser to the South Korean navy.

“They could have tested some middle stage kind [of device] between an A-bomb and H-bomb, but unless they come up with any clear evidence, it is difficult to trust their claim,” he said.

Joe Cirincione, a nuclear expert who is president of Ploughshares Fund, a global security organization, said North Korea might have mixed a hydrogen isotope in a normal atomic fission bomb.

“Because it is, in fact, hydrogen, they could claim it is a hydrogen bomb,” he said. “But it is not a true fusion bomb capable of the massive multi-megaton yields these bombs produce.”

The US Geological Survey reported a magnitude 5.1 earthquake that South Korea said was 49km from the Punggye-ri site where the North has conducted nuclear tests in the past.

The claim of miniaturizing, which would allow the device to be adapted as a weapon and placed on a missile, would also pose a new threat to the US, Japan and South Korea.

However, the North’s previous miniaturization claims have not been independently verified.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Tokyo would make a firm response to North Korea’s challenge against nuclear non-proliferation.

South Korea said it would take all possible measures, including possible UN sanctions, to ensure Pyongyang paid the price after its fourth nuclear test.

“The government must now work closely with the international community to ensure that North Korea pays the commensurate price for the latest nuclear test,” South Korean President Park Geun-hye said in a statement.

“We must respond decisively through measures such as strong international sanctions,” she said.

The EU said that the test, if confirmed, would be a grave violation of international obligations.

NATO condemned the test, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia was “extremely worried” and China urged the North to honor its commitment to denuclearization.

Structure of the Lead:

WHO- North Korea

WHEN- not given

WHAT-North Korea claim of hydrogen bomb test condemned

WHY-not given

WHERE-North Korea

HOW-hydrogen bomb test condemned

keywords:

claim 聲稱

full-fledged 羽翼豐滿

fusion 合成

verified 驗證

fission 分裂

proliferation 擴散

sanctions 制裁

denuclearization 無核化

104-2 Week 2:Man found alive in Shenzhen landslide

A migrant worker was pulled out alive yesterday after he was buried for more than 60 hours in a massive landslide that swept through part of a major manufacturing city in southern China.

Shenzhen Emergency Response Office official Rao Liangzhong said that the man, Tian Zeming (田澤明), was rescued at about dawn yesterday. He said Tian was from Chongqing in southwestern China.

“The survivor had a very feeble voice and pulse when he was found alive buried under debris, and now he is undergoing further checks,” Wang Yiguo (王以國) told a news conference in Shenzhen, according to a transcript posted by the district government that covers the area.

State broadcaster CCTV reported that Tian later underwent surgery for a broken hand and on his foot, which had been wedged against a door panel. It said he had been trying to get out of his room when the building collapsed, and the door panel created a space for him to survive.

When they found him, Tian told rescuers his name and that there was another person buried near him, according to the transcript. Another neurosurgeon, Dai Limeng (戴黎萌), told the news conference that he had gone into the rubble and confirmed that the second person had not survived.

More than 70 people are still missing from the landslide that happened on Sunday when a mountain of construction waste material and mud collapsed and flowed into an industrial park in Shenzhen.

The Chinese Ministry of Land and Resources has said a steep mountain of dirt, cement chunks and other construction waste had been piled up against a 100m-high hill over the past two years.

Heavy rain saturated the soil, making it unstable, and ultimately causing it to collapse with massive force in and around an industrial park.

State media reported that the New Guangming District Government identified problems with the mountain of soil months earlier.

The Legal Evening News said a district government report in January found that the dump had received 1 million cubic meters of waste and warned of a “catastrophe.”

Under pressure from the media, officials allowed about 30 journalists, mostly from foreign outlets, to approach an edge of the disaster area. Flanked by police officers, reporters could observe military posts with computers and disease control stations set up for the rescue workers.

Shenzhen is a major manufacturing center, making everything from cellphones to cars, and it attracts workers from all parts of China.

Structure of the Lead:

WHO- Rao Liangzhong,Tian Zeming 

WHEN- Thu, Dec 23, 2015

WHAT-A migrant worker was pulled out alive yesterday  in a landslide

WHY-not given

WHERE-in southern China.

HOW-not given

keywords:

feeble 微弱

panel 面板

transcript 副本

wedge 劈

rubble 瓦礫

confirm 確認

104-2 Week 1:Russian airliner crashes in Egypt

A Russian airliner carrying 224 passengers and crew yesterday crashed in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, and a security officer at the scene said most passengers appeared to have been killed.

The Airbus A321, operated by Russian airline Kogalymavia under the brand name Metrojet, was flying from the Sinai Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to St Petersburg in Russia when it went down in a desolate mountainous area of central Sinai soon after daybreak, the Egyptian Ministry of Civil Aviation Ministry said.

An authoritative Sweden-based aviation tracking service said the aircraft, having made an apparently smooth take off, lurched into a rapid descent shortly after approaching cruising altitude.

“I now see a tragic scene,” an Egyptian security officer at the scene said by telephone. “A lot of dead on the ground and many who died whilst strapped to their seats.”

“The plane split into two, a small part on the tail end that burned and a larger part that crashed into a rock. We have extracted at least 100 bodies and the rest are still inside,” said the officer, who requested anonymity.

Sinai is the scene of an insurgency by militants close to Islamic State, who have killed hundreds of Egyptian soldiers and police and have also attacked Western targets in recent months.

Russia, an ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, launched air raids against opposition groups in Syria including Islamic State on Sept. 30.

Egyptian Minister of Civil Aviation Mohammed Hossam Kemal was quoted in a Cabinet statement as saying it was too soon to determine the cause of the crash.

Security sources said there was no indication the Airbus had been shot down or blown up.

Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail was heading to the crash site in the Hassana area 35km south of the Sinai Mediterranean coastal city of Al Arish with several Cabinet ministers on a private jet, the tourism ministry said.

Russian television showed film of anxious relatives and friends waiting for information at St Petersburg’s Pulkovo airport.

Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a day of national mourning for today.

The A321 is a 185-seat medium-haul jet in service since 1994, with more than 1,100 in operation worldwide and a good safety record. It is a highly automated aircraft that relies on computers to help pilots stay within safe flying limits.

Yesterday’s crash is the second fatal accident involving this variant of the A320 jetliner family, according to data from the Flight Safety Foundation.

Airbus said it had no independent information on the crash and declined to comment on the aircraft involved.

Emergency services and aviation specialists quickly began an inspection of the wreckage for any patterns of damage that could point to the cause. One of two flight recorders was quickly found, but wreckage was scattered over a wide area.

The security officer said 120 intact bodies had been found.

“We are hearing a lot of telephones ringing, most likely belonging to the victims, and security forces are collecting them and putting them into a bag,” he said.

The aircraft took off at 5:51am Cairo time and disappeared from radar screens 23 minutes later, the aviation ministry said in a statement.

It was at an altitude of 9,400m when it vanished from radar screens.

Accidents at cruising altitude are one of the rarest categories of accidents, but also among the most deadly, accounting for 13 percent of fatal incidents, but 27 percent of fatalities since 2005, according to Boeing.

According to FlightRadar24, an authoritative Sweden-based flight tracking service, the aircraft was descending rapidly at about 2,000m per minute before the signal was lost to air traffic control.

The Russian RIA news agency, citing sources at Sharm el-Sheikh, said: “The pilot contacted the dispatcher and reported technical problems, asking for a change of the route and a landing at Cairo airport, after which communication was broken.”

The aircraft cited in tracking reports had two engines from the International Aero Engines consortium, which includes United Technologies unit Pratt & Whitney and Germany’s MTU Aero Engines.

Structure of the Lead:

WHO- A Russian airliner carrying 224 passengers

WHEN- not given

WHAT-Russian airliner crashes in Egypt

WHY-not given

WHERE-In Egypt

HOW-The plane split into two, a small part on the tail end that burned and a larger part that crashed into a rock./The aircraft took off at 5:51am Cairo time and disappeared from radar screens 23 minutes later, the aviation ministry said in a statement.

keywords:

desolate 荒涼

lurch 困境

whilst 而

anonymity 匿名

insurgency 暴動

shot down 擊落

blown up 爆炸

variant 變種

jetliner 噴氣客機

wreckage 殘骸

scatter 分散

intact 完整

dispatcher 調度員

consortium 財團