Queen’s Gambit and more

Kenneth Regan is my partner here at GLL and a dear friend.

He is a longtime faculty member in computer science at the University of Buffalo, a longtime fan of the Buffalo NFL football team, and a longtime international master of chess. He is also one of the world experts on detecting cheating at chess. Players cheat by making their moves based on computer programs instead of relying on their brains. The key issue is: computer programs play chess better than any human.

Today I thought we might send Ken a tip-of-the-hat for being in the Wall Street Journal.

That is he is featured in a WSJ article called Queen’s Gambit about chess cheating.

This is not his first mention in the WSJ—see here. See this for additional comments by Cory Nealon, who says:

The game of chess is no stranger to cheating. But since the pandemic hit and tournaments have moved online, the services of chess detectives have never been more in demand.

Ken is perhaps the world’s most feared chess detective.

Beyond Chess

Chess is important, but it is a game. Yet chess cheating may be an early warning of things to come. Might robotic methods in other areas soon start to dominate humans? Might chess be one of first areas to be lost to robots?

A 1970 movie that comes to mind is The Forbin Project. The plot is what happens when a computer system, Colossus, takes over the world. Its creator is Dr. Forbin, has the following exchange with it at the end of the movie:

Colossus later tells Forbin that the world, now freed from war, will create a new human millennium that will raise mankind to new heights, but only under its absolute rule. Colossus informs Forbin that “freedom is an illusion” and that “in time you will come to regard me not only with respect and awe, but with love”. Forbin responds, “Never!”

I think there is a reason to worry about computers like Colossus wiping us out. Perhaps not taking absolute control, but nevertheless making us second class citizens. I wonder if the following areas could be potential ones where we lose out to computers:

Protein folding? They already are doing quite well.

Play calling in the NFL? I made this one up, but I do wonder if using all the statistics available programs could do a better job than players and coaches. They probably could already do better than the Jets defensive coach, who was recently fired.

Solving Open Math Problems? We recently talked about Lean the proof checking system. But what if Lean could start to conjecture, to suggest directions, and give a proof outline? This would be, I believe, much more disruptive than the ability to check proofs.

Open Problems

What are some areas that you think could be next? That could be taken over by robots?
Moreover, as more areas are dominated by robots, we will need more Ken’s to stop cheaters.

Thanks again Ken.