stackyFACTS
Technology

The first AI program played checkers

HERE’S THE INTERESTING PART

We've been teaching machines how to aggressively beat us for over seven decades. In 1951, Christopher Strachey wrote a checkers-playing program for the Ferranti Mark 1 computer. It was one of the earliest actual examples of artificial intelligence. It played a full game at a reasonable speed, marking the exact moment humanity started coding its own obsolescence over a digital board game.

From the Stacky collection1 min read
The first AI program played checkers
STACKY / Technology
Topics in this factartificial_intelligencecheckerssoftware
One discovery leads to another.

Keep exploring facts in this topic.

Technology →
STACKY FOR IPHONE

A bigger world.
One discovery
at a time.

Keep discovering with Stacky. Interesting facts in an app that is always within reach.

Download on the App Store
ONE MORE DISCOVERY?

Keep exploring

All in this topic →
The Space Shuttle had less code than your microwave
Technology

The Space Shuttle had less code than your microwave

Your kitchen appliances are statistically smarter than Apollo-era spaceships. The Space Shuttle's primary flight software had about 400,000 lines of code. A…

Discover more
Why software updates take hours and change almost nothing
Technology

Why software updates take hours and change almost nothing

After staring at a spinning loading wheel for a significant portion of your finite lifespan, the machine finally restarts. You eagerly look for vast…

Discover more
The tangled code keeping critical systems alive
Technology

The tangled code keeping critical systems alive

If the public actually saw the code running their lives, society would collapse in panic. Critical platforms holding immense databases are often a tangled…

Discover more
Machine learning models do not actually know anything in the traditional sense, but merely predict the next statistically likely word based on vast oceans of stolen internet…
Technology

Machine learning models do not actually know anything in the traditional sense, but merely predict the next statistically likely word based on vast oceans of stolen internet…

Machine learning models do not actually know anything in the traditional sense, but merely predict the next statistically likely word based on vast oceans of…

Discover more
Operating systems hide critical files to prevent tampering
Technology

Operating systems hide critical files to prevent tampering

Operating systems treat you like a toddler by actively hiding the folders that keep the machine alive. By default, the most vital system files are completely…

Discover more
Maximum code test coverage still permits fatal logic flaws
Technology

Maximum code test coverage still permits fatal logic flaws

A false sense of security wrapped in a green checkmark. Hitting 100% test coverage just proves every line of code executed without instantly exploding; it…

Discover more
StackyMore discoveries in the app
Download on the App Store