So, will there be a big hiring spree in South Korea? What does it take to work there?

I feel the same way I felt after Watson won Jeopardy. I happened to be in my graduate AI class at the time and Watson was all the rage, subject to many class discussions. Every single one of us, teacher included, were really excited for what the future might hold.

Does anyone remember that commercial with all the kids saying "I am Tiger Woods"? Today, just like at the time Watson triumphed, I like all others in my class at that time, feel like chanting with pride "I am an AI researcher!".

Agreed. Even better is when the computer learns to master a gameon its own without being imparted with any human knowledge of the game (except for the rules).

See "Evolving neural networks to play checkers without expert knowledge", K. Chellapilla and D. Fogel, IEEE Transactions on Neural Networks, vol. 10, no. 6, pp. 1382 – 1391, 1999.

See Figure 3 in the linked paper below "Reinforcement Learning in Board Games". According to the author's estimate Go is practically off-the-scale in terms of game tree size and possible states when compared to Chess. https://www.cs.bris.ac.uk/Publ...

Some games were designed to deny the computer's advantage over humans, these would be Arimaa and Octi. I understand the former has indeed been defeated by the machines by now. The latter, Octi, probably survives because it is such an obscure game.

Yea, I remember this newscast not long ago about how the ICBM command center used 8" floppy disks:

http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/...

I know of a rent-a-storage place where the gate access security is run buy an Apple II! (Not the government, I know, but I was really shocked to find that out).

The competition rules are beyond ambiguous, arbitrary, and subjective. According to the TFA, "...in past competitions, the X Prize Foundation typically laid out specific goals or requirements that had to be met. That's not the case this time around, because X Prize is allowing teams to define their own challenges." AI has plenty of competitions, some more or less formal (Turing test) and some informal (bragging rights for winning Jeopardy or a Go grand master), but this competition is meaningless.

The last time someone was serious about defending the Earth, nobody cared enough to pay for it.

The AI isn't going to settle for second fiddle! See: http://watson2016.com/

The cynicism expressed in the title of my post not withstanding, if AI can replace all the HR drones out there, fantastic! On the other hand, I'll never get a job again.

I was walking across a bridge one day, and I saw a man standing on the edge, about to jump off. So I ran over and said, "Stop! Don't do it!" "Why shouldn't I?" he said. I said, "Well, there's so much to live for!" He said, "Like what?" I said, "Well, are you religious or atheist?" He said, "Religious." I said, "Me too! Are your Christian or Buddhist?" He said, "Christian." I said, "Me too! Are you Catholic or Protestant?" He said, "Protestant." I said, Me too! Are your Episcopalian or Baptist? He said, "Baptist!" I said, "Wow! Me too! Are your Baptist Church of God or Baptist Church of the Lord? He said, Baptist Church of God!" I said, "Me too! Are your Original Baptist Church of God or are you Reformed Baptist Church of God?" He said, "Reformed Baptist Church of God!" I said, "Me too! Are you Reformed Baptist Church of God, Reformation of 1879, or Reformed Baptist Church of God, Reformation of 1915?" He said, "Reformed Baptist Church of God, Reformation of 1915!" I said, "Die, heretic scum!" and pushed him off.