We Are Tomodachi Spring 2018

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20A “technological singularity,” when artificial intelligence, or “AI,” surpasses human intelligence, is coming closer to reality. In 2017, AI software named “Ponanza” that plays shogi—a Japanese game similar to chess—defeated the holder of the Meijin title, one of the most prestigious titles in professional shogi, for the first time ever. Because shogi allows players to use captured pieces as their own, the number of potential moves is 10 raised to the power of 100 times more than in chess, making the game substantially more complex.HEROZ, Inc., founded in 2009 by Takahiro Hayashi and Tomohiro Takahashi, is the AI tech company whose engineers developed the Ponanza software. The company’s online application “Shogi Wars” has a feature by which, at the touch of a button, a player not sure of the best move to make can have the AI select the best possible strategy on his or her behalf for the next five moves. The player can thereby learn new tactics through the AI software. Currently, over 250,000 shogi matches are played on Shogi Wars daily, and the company has accumulated game data on a total of more than 320 million matches during the five years since the app was first launched. Moreover, even professional shogi players are playing games on Shogi Wars to learn the moves used by Ponanza and other AI shogi software. Hayashi says of this relationship, “AI is not a rival of human beings, but a partner for learning together.”A unique feature of HEROZ is that it develops and provides the AI platform “HEROZ Kishin,” which can be used by various industries, including finance. This platform applies machine learning, including deep learning, accumulated through the development of its AI shogi software to evolve AI-related techniques. For example, together with a stock brokerage firm, it has developed a system for institutional investors that studies past share price and transaction data and forecasts share Amahiko Sato (right), the current Meijin title holder, in a match with shogi AI at the Shogi Denou Tournament, in which professional shogi players play against various kinds of shogi AI.Artificial Intelligence: A Rival for Humans, or a Partner?