AI Shapes Human Decision Making in Go

A team of researchers from the University at Albany and Seoul National University seized a unique research opportunity with the sudden rise of artificial intelligence (AI) in the world of Go. Their findings proved that AI assists humans in making decisions and helping them learn. 

New research published in the Strategic Management Journal, co-authored by Massry School of Business Professor Sukwoong Choi, examines how professional Go players improved their gameplay using an AI-powered Go program (APG). The study analyzed nearly 750,000 moves during Go games and found that players' decision-making quality increased when they utilized gameplay based on AI-suggested strategies.

Go is an abstract strategy two-player board game. To win, players need to gather more territory than their opponents. In 2016, Google DeepMind’s AlphaGo defeated the best human Go player. This was a breakthrough in AI research. A year later, Google released an open-access AI Go program named Leela. Leela allows players to strengthen their skills by practicing with a virtual player who can perform better than skilled professionals.

“We find that similar to the impact of chess computers on players, AI has improved human performance.” the researchers write, “Additional analyses indicate that the improvement in move quality eventually leads to winning the game. This effect is most prominent in the early stage of a game where uncertainty is higher and there is more opportunity for players to learn from AI.”

The study found that younger players adapted to AI faster and improved their decision-making more than older players. Nonetheless, players of all skill levels saw improvements with the AI training. Players at the lower end of the performance spectrum saw the most significant boost in performance when they used AI-suggested skills. The researchers attribute the differences in performance to digital literacy. They note that a young mindset tends to be more open to new technology.

These findings have implications beyond Go. As AI becomes increasingly integrated into workplaces, its role as an instructional tool could change how professionals strengthen their skills. While AI has often been discussed in the context of automating tasks, this research suggests its true power may lie in teaching humans to make decisions more effectively.