AI algorithm solves Rubik's Cube in less than a second

Researchers have developed an AI algorithm that can solve a Rubiks Cube in a fraction of a second, faster than most humans. Also, read:Google's 'Internet Saathis' now cover 2.6 lakh Indian villages The study, published in the journal Nature Machine Intelligence, shows DeepCubeA -- a deep reinforcement learning algorithm programmed by University of California computer scientists and mathematicians -- can solve the Rubik's Cube in a fraction of a second, without any specific domain knowledge or in-game coaching from humans. "Artificial Intelligence can defeat the world's best human chess and Go players, but some of the more difficult puzzles, such as the Rubik's Cube, had not been solved by computers, so we thought they were open for AI approaches," said study author Pierre Baldi, Professor at the University of California. "The solution to the Rubik's Cube involves more symbolic, mathematical and abstract thinking, so a deep learning machine that can crack such a puzzle is getting closer to becoming a system that can think, reason, plan and make decisions," Baldi said. "Right there, you can see the strategy is different, so my best guess is that the AI's form of reasoning is completely different from a human's," he added.