What can architects learn from AlphaGo? This chapter explores the lessons to be learnt from the famous match where AlphaGo, a machine-learning system developed by DeepMind, beat leading Korean Go player, Lee Sedol. It explores the ramifications of this victory on a series of different levels, from the global impact of the match on research into AI to the impact on Xkool Technologies and Spacemaker AI, two architectural start-ups developing AI systems for architecture and urban planning. It makes a particular comparison between the operations of AlphaGo and the strategic thinking of urban planning, arguing that AI now puts the future of urban planners—and possibly also architects—at risk. It then goes on to appraise the famous Move 37 made by AlphaGo in Game 2 of this match. It argues that, despite appearances, this move was not actually creative. Finally, it explores how we might view human creativity in the light of comments made about AlphaGo. The chapter concludes by speculating whether the ultimate lesson of AlphaGo is that creativity is simply a question of “perceived creativity.”.
