The world of bluffs and tells is the latest game to be dominated by an AI system. Algorithmic victories are well known in chess and GO but until now AI play has been limited to two-parties, methodical rules, and transparent play. A new AI model called Pluribus is winning at Texas Hold’em, among the most popular forms of poker.
Rules are still at the centre of poker but so is concealment and deception. Unlike games where opposing plays are shown, poker players use feints as strategy while keeping their cards to themselves. It’s made more complex with six sets in the mix.
Pluribus is showing poker prowess of its own. It is completely immune to bluffing and has no intention-revealing ‘tells’ for fellow players to weigh. All the while, the MIT TECHNOLOGY REVIEW says Pluribus ‘bluffed like a seasoned pro.’
Pluribus played 5,000 hands with winning poker pros who had million-dollar-games to their credit. Then it turned 10,000 hands with 13 other players and won again.
The MIT story says practical applications extend far beyond the felt of the gaming table. Future iterations might include strategy-making for pricing or automated control systems, such as in self-driving vehicles.
“Poker is the main benchmark problem for testing imperfect-information game solving capability… Multi-player games present additional challenges not present in two-player zero-sum games.”
Study co-author Dr. Tuomas Sandholm, Professor of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon University, quoted in Newsweek
OUR TAKE
- Making good calls with incomplete information lies at the centre of news judgment. It’s a very long path from these developments to machines making editorial choices but you can connect a line from here to there.
- This is the second AI model released this year labelled to be ‘too dangerous to release’ (the first was the text-generating transformer model GPT-2.) In this case, the concern was for an unfair advantage if playing unsuspecting poker companies online.
- Cynics may suggest this is a marketing ploy. Others say it is a responsible measure without withholding the scientific significance of the advance. Either way, it signals a higher state of performance from a new cohort of algorithms.
SEE RELATED ITEMS
- AI vs. Humans: Artificial Intelligence Beats 6 Professional Players at No-limit Texas Hold’em Poker
Newsweek - Hold ’Em or Fold ’Em? This A.I. Bluffs With the Best
New York Times - Artificial intelligence has now pretty much conquered poker Science News
- Artificial intelligence program ‘Pluribus’ beats professionals in six-player Texas hold ’em poker
South China Morning Post - Facebook AI beats professional poker players in major artificial intelligence breakthrough
The Independent - AI surpasses humans at six-player poker
Science