The first demonstration of AI beating humans at chess was a seminal moment in AI history and brought attention to the fact that chess has a finite number of moves that can be made. This was an interesting demonstration of the capabilities of AI and continues to be a valuable learning experience for AI development.
The speaker reflects on the awe-inspiring moment when they discovered that a machine (chess computer Deep Blue) could perform what they had always thought of as a uniquely human skill - intelligence. It challenged their previous understanding of memory, patterns, intuition, guts, and instinct all working together, and wonders if the human mind is not simply a set of algorithms.
The technology behind AI is neither inherently good nor bad: it's all about how it's used or taught. Public perception of AI has been shaped by unrealistic expectations, but we'll eventually have to grapple with AI systems that simulate human emotions.