AlphaGo now world's No 1 Go player

Go player Lee Sedol puts the first stone against Google's artificial intelligence program AlphaGo during the second day of Google DeepMind Challenge Match in Seoul, South Korea, March 10, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

AlphaGo is now the world's No 1 Go player, toppling human's dominance in the game for thousands of years.

According to the latest ranking of GoRating, AlphaGo replaced Chinese player Ke Jie Monday to become the world's No 1 Go player, the first non-human to win the honor.

AlphaGo replaces China's Ke Jie to become world's No 1 Go player.

AlphaGo is an artificial intelligence Go-playing program designed by Google DeepMind, a British artificial intelligence company.

It beat South Korean Go master Lee Sedol by 4 to 1 in a challenge match in March, causing a sensation around the world.

Rumors said AlphaGo would face off against Ke Jie after winning the game against Lee. But this was denied by DeepMind co-founder Demis Hassabis later.

According to GoRating rules, a player's score on the list will change according to that of his opponent. For example, AlphaGo will see its score going up if Lee Sedol's score increases.

Defeating a human Go master is not the only thing the AI can achieve. DeepMind also plans to apply its AI technology to improve human well-being, including promoting healthcare in cooperation with the National Healthcare Service.

The success of AlphaGo drew global attention to AI, a sector attracting increasing investment.

Global AI revenue is expected to reach 119 billion yuan ($18.1 billion) in 2020, with an annual growth rate of 19.7 percent from 2015 to 2020, according to a report by consulting firm iResearch.

China will develop new AI sectors and promote key AI innovation projects in the next three to five years, according to an internet and AI development guide released by the National Development and Reform Commission on May 23.

The authority said China's AI market was projected to reach a trillion-yuan level by 2018.