A chess program that learns from human error might be better at working with people or negotiating with them.

It took about 50 years for computers to eviscerate humans in the venerable game of chess. A standard smartphone can now play the kind of moves that make a grandmaster’s head spin. But one artificial intelligence program is taking a few steps backward, to appreciate how average humans play—blunders and all.

The AI chess program, known as Maia, uses the kind of cutting-edge AI behind the best superhuman chess-playing programs. But instead of learning how to destroy an opponent on the board, Maia focuses on predicting human moves, including the mistakes they make. Read More